Of Life and Magic
by Alranath
Summary: The four heroes have defeated Vaati and Ganon, but at a terrible cost.They all miss their shadowy ally, one more than the others. Yet as Vio searches for a way to help his friend back to the Light realm he finds Fate is ready to pull him along again.
1. Chapter 1

Yay for the first actual story on this account! As my first story, please HELP ME. I can use all the advice I can get! |= |_| ( |, I'll even take flames if they have any good advice in them.

WARNINGS:This will(eventually) have Yaoi. This means Boy/Boy relationships. Rated "'T'" for now according to my plans. Also, if you haven't read the manga this probably won't make too much sense to you. It starts near the end, but like most people I don't like the way the game or manga ended... so I ignore it. BTW. I don't like Zelink and this won't have any, sorry but that's just not my preference. I've never really liked Zelda...

ON With Da Fic!

* * *

><p>They were nearing Castle town now, and every step seemed slower than the last. All four boys knew that today, and tonight, could be the last time they were together as separate people. Even though they had all been one person not too long ago – and still looked like identical 14 year olds at a glance – they all enjoyed the time they'd spent in separate bodies, and none of them wanted to go back.<p>

Though one of them knew he couldn't accept going back to the way he had been. The smart blond who wore a violet tunic, Vio they called him, knew he couldn't let his… brothers (?) put their swords back in the pedestal. He had a secret, one he'd told the others yesterday, but had yet to tell the princess.

…Yesterday, ya, **that** had been interesting…

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o..o0O**O**O0o.

The strongest looking blond, who wore a blue tunic and was called Blue, was pouting about having to walk back to the castle when the Princess and the maidens had just teleported there. Everyone else was putting up their tents and making camp. The shortest blond, who wore-and was called-Red, had made the tent of sticks and lit it already with his fire rod. Now, though, he was having a little trouble with putting up his own tent.

"Owe!" called the smallest boy, causing everyone to look up. The boy was holding his hand tightly with the other, the slowly darkening sky and firelight lit the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. The green clad blond -called Green- made to move to the smaller one, but somehow Blue was there first.

"What happened?" asked the strongest blond in a surprisingly caring voice.

"It hurts, the hammer slipped off the stake and hit me," the small boy whimpered.

The others turned back to what they had been doing as the taller boy carefully looked at the injury. "It doesn't look that bad, you didn't break the skin. Do you want me to finish this for you?" Blue asked as he gestured at the half finished tent.

The small boy nodded and the other began to turn away.

"Blue?"

"Ya, Red?"

"Will you, umm, will you kiss it to-make-it-better?"

Blue gave a dramatic sigh yet he gingerly took the boy's hand to place his lips against the injured part. Red looked at his hand a moment as Blue let go, then announced, "Thank you, Blue." his mood greatly improved.

"Don't mention it," and with that Blue turned back to the half-finished tent.

A while later; the sky was dark, the crickets were chirping, the fire was bright, the tents were up, and the four blonds ate a light meal of cheese and bread before sleep. Clouds had come up just at sun set, making the night fall faster in an already dark forest, covering the moon. Even shielded by the trees, the boys could hear the tops of them shaking and rattling in the heavy wind. The occasional leaf fell loose around them, though where they sat was rather calm. The air was chill and none of them looked forward to leaving the warm firelight for their cool bedrolls, so instead they had been talking. Anyone could hear the note of sadness in their talk though, the laughter was too quick and stopped too suddenly, the jokes were halfhearted and overused, and the silences were too long and too thick.

Eventually the time came; Vio could put off his announcement no longer. He took heart in the memory of how Green had reacted earlier that day, how the leader had been accepting of his decision, and spoke as Red began to leave the fire.

"There is something I should tell you, something I should have said a while ago but didn't. I'm sorry; I didn't know how you would take it."

"What is it?" Red asked kindly, seeing the hesitation on the intelligent blonde's face as he sat back down beside Blue.

"You remember how, for a time, I pretended to switch sides and join Shadow?" There were nods all around the circle so Vio continued. "During that time I saw something. I saw that Shadow was not as bad as we had thought. That he could be caring, kind, and thoughtful. Then he proved it by switching sides himself and helping us defeat his master, though it killed him to do it. As he died his body changed, and became those little sparks." The blond kept talking as he pulled something into the firelight from behind him. "I kept the sparks."

In his hand was a jar, one of the ones they used for carrying potions and things, with… something inside. It looked like a bunch of captured stars were moving in slow circles near the edge of the glass, bobbing up and down slowly as they circled what looked to be a long, thin, broken shard of glass.

"I also took a piece of the Dark Mirror." Vio added.

At the same time two things happened; Blue took a deep breath, likely to yell at the teen, and Red spoke. "Can I hold it?"

"If you are very careful," Vio said slowly, "and if you come over here."

The small boy immediately jumped up and moved to set between Vio and Green. Then he quickly settled himself and looked eagerly at the sparks. Slowly, the taller blond placed the jar into Red's waiting hands.

As soon as Vio let go of the glass the sparks drifted down toward the bottom as they spun, though if that was because they couldn't sense Vio any more, or because Red's hands were on the bottom, the intelligent blond didn't know. The small boy looked amazed as he gazed at the swirling points of light, after a moment he turned the jar so the mirror shard faced him and he could see the sparks' reflections in the dark glass.

After a few moments of silence Red looked at Vio and asked, "So how are we gonna bring him back?"

All the boys were surprised at how easily and eagerly Red spoke about bringing back someone who had tried to kill them, and Vio spoke first.

"Why do you think I should know?" he asked sadly.

"Because you're the smartest one of us, you always know what to do. Also we left the Palace of the Winds, where Shadow died, over a week ago. That's plenty of time for you to figure something out."

Finally though, Blue found his voice. "We're not going to bring him back, he tried to kill us!"

Green's response was immediate, "He also saved us! If it hadn't been for him we probably wouldn't have succeeded at all! Don't you remember what that last battle against Vaati was like? We nearly died, and if Shadow hadn't acted when he did we wouldn't be here now. It's the least we can do to try to bring him back. He literally gave his life for ours, not to mention he saved the entire country in the process."

Everyone looked at Green in surprise for a moment; even Vio hadn't thought he would so vehemently defend the dark teen. After a moment of silence Vio spoke.

"Green is precisely right; Shadow gave his life for us and all of Hyrule even though he had nothing to gain and everything to lose. It's only right that we try to help him."

Blue was silent a moment, apparently he couldn't think of an argument, and Red spoke. "So, how do we help him?"

Everyone looked at Vio a moment before the blond spoke. "I'm not exactly sure if it will work, but the best plan I can come up with is to magically create a new body for him. As far as I can tell, it's his spirit that became the sparks that I saved… his spirit or his memories. It can't have been his body because the sunlight destroyed that the moment he was without the Dark Mirror. There are precedents, I've been doing a lot of research lately and I've found several times in history where a body was created to house a soul that had lost its original body. The only problem is that most of those times the transfer of the soul into the new body resulted in the death of them both, and when it didn't it was usually Ganon or someone else evil that was resurrected. Good people don't usually die without taking their souls with them."

"Well then, that's what sets us apart," Red said with a smile. "We don't want to bring him back because we want him to do something bad, we want him back so he can live a full life. Don't look so sad Vio; Green was right, Shadow saved us. Without him we probably wouldn't have won, the Goddesses will help us because of that."

"You think so?" asked the intelligent boy.

"Yes I think so." Red responded.

"And I agree," Green said suddenly. "The Goddesses will want to reward the one who gave his life for the lives of so many others, even though he had never seen or met any of them. Isn't that how all the fairy tales end? The hero is rewarded for all they spent and gave of them self for the sake of others. Have faith Vio," the blond reached over with a smile and placed a hand on Vio's shoulder. "The Goddesses will help us, we just have to do as much as we can and they'll do the rest."

Vio looked over at the other and pulled a small, hopeful smile onto his lips. "Thank you Green," he said softly just before Red broke into a huge yawn. With a chuckle the violet clad blond gently took the jar of sparks back from Red as Green spoke.

"It looks like it's time to go to bed, tomorrow we will go back to the castle and we all need our energy."

Everyone nodded and stood as the wind began to pick up above; blowing more leaves loose and pulling sparks from the fire. Green kicked some dirt on the fire to put it out, before he went to his own tent, Red and Blue following suit. Vio looked at the leaves falling out of the darkness for a moment more before following the advice.

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

That was yesterday evening, now they looked ahead and saw the castles' spires appear over a rise in the land, they all knew that soon they would climb the crest of the hill and be looking down at Hyrule Castle, Castletown at its foot. They dragged their feet and kept their eyes on the ground, as if not looking at the castle rising before them could make it go away. They tried their best not to think about what they were walking toward, as if not recognizing it could change things. They all would rather be walking out to another adventure on this fine fall morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter one flashback...**

That was yesterday evening, now they looked ahead and saw the castles' spires appear over a rise in the land, they all knew that soon they would climb the crest of the hill and be looking down at Hyrule Castle, Castletown at its foot. They dragged their feet and kept their eyes on the ground, as if not looking at the castle rising before them could make it go away. They tried their best not to think about what they were walking toward, as if not recognizing it could change things. They all would rather be walking out to another adventure on this fine fall morning.

**CH II**

They stopped at the top of the hill and, finally raising their eyes, looked out to what looked like the end of their adventure. Green spoke first, the ever present determination in his voice.

"Well guys, might as well get down there, the Princess is waiting for us."

"But I don't want to become one again; I wanna stay here with you guys." Little Red nearly whined, looking around at the others with wide eyes.

Automatically Green moved to comfort the boy, but Blue was there first again. "It's alright Red, we'll still be together. We'll just all be in Green's head." Then the blue clad boy pulled the smaller one into a hug, shooting a death glare at the other two just daring them to argue with him.

"Why my head?" Green asked with a small chuckle, to make it apparent he was going to go along with it. In truth none of them really _knew_ what would happen when they put the sword back, they only knew they didn't want to disappear. Yet they all thought that was what was going to happen.

"Because…" Blue started then sighed before quietly adding, "You're the original, right?" Two pair of thin blond eyebrows shot up as Blue agreed to something he had been arguing against since day one. Vio thought again of how moderating an influence Red had been for Blue's usually aggressive temperament. The two dynamic personalities seemed to have found comfort in one another, literally by how tight Red was hugging the taller teen.

With a smile Green walked over two them and rested a hand on the sky clad boy's shoulder. "No," he said, "Not the original, just the part that still likes the color green."

The two looked at each other over Red a moment as the violet clad blond stood a little ways away. "It's good they are finally making peace, even if it is a little late." murmured the blond. Then, to his surprise, Green looked up and waived him over. He stepped toward them as the forest clad blond leaned down toward Red and said something in the small boy's long ear. Red looked up at Vio nearing and suddenly called out.

"Group hug!"

Vio stopped in his tracks but Green reached out and yanked his shoulder toward the group. In surprise he stumbled forward and was pulled into the embrace.

It lasted only a moment or two then Vio and Green pulled away. Red, still close to Blue, looked up at the smartest one of the group and asked,

"Will we really still be together, Vio?"

"Most likely," said the blond, and only Green saw the pained look that flashed across his features at the possible lie. "We have grown too different, I don't think even the Golden Goddesses could blend us back into one person entirely."

"Good," the small boy said with a smile that matched his stature. "I don't want to be without you guys."

"Don't worry Red, where ever we go, we'll be with you." said Green as he turned toward the castle. Looking back over his shoulder he asked, "Ready to go?"

"Yup," said Red as the others nodded and walked toward Green as he turned and led the way down the hill, still a good league from Castletown.

As they walked Vio took Red's usual place beside Green. After about ten minutes he spoke quietly in his usual monotone. "This was rather unexpected, though it has been coming for a while. I didn't think Blue would ever let anything threaten his masculinity. Though, his time with all of our personalities has definitely been a moderating influence on his explosive temper."

"What do you mean?" asked Green.

"Look back at them," was all Vio answered. So Green did, and saw Blue and Red holding hands.

"They're not actually together, are they?" Green asked quietly in surprise.

"Yes, it's been coming for a while if you noticed. Blue's almost always taken extra care of Red, always made sure he was warm and well fed. It took the possibility of being separated permanently to finally bring them together though. I don't think anything else could have made Blue get over his protective aggression." Vio's voice was almost emotionless, as usual.

"What was he protecting?"

"What he sees as his weakness, all of his softer emotions, especially the ability to care for another."

Green glanced back again, to see how Red was looking at Blue like he was in his own little world. Blue looked determined not to glance down at the other, though a light blush painted his cheeks as he stared at the horizon to the side. "They look happy."Green said, turning back.

"They likely are, they've cared for one another more than either of us for quite some time now. And… their feelings may be enough to keep them here if we do have to put the sword back."

"'If'?" Green wondered at the word.

"I told you, I'll not put the sword away and leave Shadow stranded the way he is if I have any other choice. I have a plan to ask the princess about an idea of mine. She might give me the chance I need; yet she might make us put the sword back. Either way there's a slim chance it will work anyway." His voice was uncaring, as if nothing _would_ really be changed either way, but Green saw the look of pain flit across the cool blonde's face again and new the truth. Vio would think he had failed his dark friend if he couldn't bring the other back, no matter the reason.

"I'll help you," Green said, "in any way I can."

"Thank you," said the other with a small nod.

They walked in silence for a while after that, through the tall grass of Hyrule field, each boy deep in thoughts of all they would be leaving when they really did have to put the sword back. They all thought they would, though they each decided to try as hard and find some way of not becoming one again.

The walk was quiet until, with several hours still till noon, they were nearly to the gates of Castletown. Then suddenly a dim clattering of hooves was heard coming across the lowered drawbridge and two white horses appeared, pulling a royal carriage.

The blondes stopped and watched as the horses turned off the road and unmistakably came for them. The white horses tossed their manes as they pranced forward, slightly disturbed by the tall grass. The carriage bounced as it ran over holes and dense patches of dried earth. Its decorative white and gold siding and large, spoke wheels looked very out of place coming across the autumn dried fields. The small man in light blue who drove it looked a little unsettled as he stood more than sat on his high seat behind the horses. The blonds couldn't see anyone else as the carriage had a roof and the white curtains were pulled shut to keep out the dust. Yet they didn't have to see a face to know who would have ordered a carriage be brought out to four tired looking boys coming to Castletown early in the day.

The bouncing carriage pulled up beside the boys and came to an uneven stop; both the horses and the driver gave an audible sigh of relief. The driver didn't pause though; he jumped down and stepped over to open the door, behind which stood the Princess Zelda. Her long golden hair was pulled away from her face by gentle curls that fell from her small golden tiara.

Green and Vio immediately bowed low, Red and Blue a second behind them.

"Oh please, don't do that," the princess said quickly in her high, clear voice. "Everyone bows to me; I haven't even had my coronation yet. You're still my friends; you shouldn't have to bow to me."

Green nodded, "Alright, Zelda." he said and she sighed in relief. At the last moment he had dropped the word 'Princess', and her sigh told him he'd been right to do so.

Then she spoke again in her carrying voice, though the words came slower. "Although, you all look like my friend Link, there are subtle differences…" and as her words fell off she began to look at each of them closer. Green took that as the opportunity to properly introduce himself and stepped forward, giving a short, quick bow and glancing between the princess's eyes and the carriage beside her as he spoke.

"I hope to follow the path Link had chosen for himself by becoming one of the Knights that protect the royal family. I will prove myself a loyal knight to you, given the chance. My name is Green."

Vio immediately recognized what their leader was doing; as Green stepped back he stepped forward and bowed shortly as well. Yet as he began he looked the princess steadily in the eye.

"I too wish to work close to the royal family, though as the royal adviser instead of a knight. I've always valued a strong mind over a strong body, and I would rather spend my days reading and learning than fighting. I will prove myself a trusted adviser, given the chance. I am called Vio." The blond stepped back to where Green had gone as the princess smiled and glanced to the other two.

Blue stepped forward next, though after his bow he locked his eyes with the white curtain that hung near the princess shoulder, unable to meet her eyes. "I'm not good at talking fancy, like those two are, but I am good at fighting. I'm the strongest fighter and I know I want to be a knight. I think I might want to train the new boys that try to become knights eventually, but I have to become a knight first. And I'm Blue." He added as he quickly stepped back to stand beside Vio and Red practically jumped forward.

"I'm Red!" He said enthusiastically and the princess smiled at him warmly. "Umm, I'm not that good at speaking fancy, or fighting, but I am good at cooking. And I hope I'll be as good as Link was at being a friend for you. That's the other think I'm good at, being a friend and making people happy."

The Princess smiled at them all warmly. "I'm glad to properly meet each of you, Green, Vio, Blue, and Red." Each teen smiled broadly as their name was called. "Please, come into the carriage so we can get back to the castle more quickly. I'm sure you all would like a break from walking." The boys all made sounds of agreement as they followed the princess up the short ladder and into the cushioned seats.

The carriage was white and gold on the inside as well and even with the thin curtains pulled shut it was light. It was designed for two to sit backwards and three to sit forwards, Red and Blue took the two backwards seats. Green chose to sit in the middle and Vio was left with the other window. Once they were all in the driver shut the door.

"Back to the castle please, Kurten," called the princess.

"Yes milady" called the driver as he snapped the reigns against the horses' flanks. There was a lurch and the carriage started forward over the uneven ground. The ride wasn't nearly as rough as the boys had thought, but it was still far from smooth, and after a moment Red began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" asked Green curiously.

Red kept giggling as he answered,"It's fun… the bouncing. Weeeeeeeee-e-ee-eeee ee ee-eeeee eeee-ee-eee-eeeee-e-ee"

His voice caught and skipped in strange places as the wheels hit bumps and dips in the field, which caused the giggling to return. Soon everyone in the carriage was smiling along with him.

After another moment though the ride evened out dramatically, and the small boy gave a happy sigh that he'd had fun while he could.

Yay for chapter 2! And yes, Kurten is an OC of mine, no he will not be a major character. There will be an OC who Is a rather major character later, in a chapter or two or three... yaaaa...

But anyway, Give Me advice! Tell me if this is bad so I can end it's life before it can know what it's missing. Review! Because Reviews are like Heart pieces, they revive my strength and give me the will to keep going!

(i read that a long time ago on someone else's page but i can't find it now to ask for it, so sorry!) AND I LURVE YOU ALL MY one,two, three... four... four and a half? No, Five Readers!


	3. Chapter 3

**Last chapter flashback...**

Red kept giggling as he answered, "It's fun… the bouncing. Weeeeeeeee-e-ee-eeee ee ee-eeeee eeee-ee-eee-eeeee-e-ee"

His voice caught and skipped in strange places as the wheels hit bumps and dips in the field, which caused the giggling to return. Soon everyone in the carriage was smiling along with him.

After another moment though the ride evened out dramatically, and the small boy gave a happy sigh that he'd had fun while he could.

**CH III**

After a short time, the princess spoke. "I'm glad to see you all are in high spirits, the last time I saw you it looked as though each of you could barely lift your head, much less stay on your feet."

Green answered her, "Several days without having to fight for your life can do wonders."

"I'm sure, and I will be eternally grateful for what you have done for me and my country. You have done so much without thought of reward; truly you are all heroes of Hyrule."

Synonyms for 'thank you' chorused throughout the small space, and the princess smiled. Then Green spoke again, though his eyes were back on his hands.

"What did you have planned for us to do now, Zelda?"

"Everything is in place at the castle; the Maidens are ready and rested enough to open the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary where the empty pedestal rests. They will open the portal when we get there and we will seal Ganon the way Vaati was sealed."

The pleasant atmosphere was destroyed with her words.

The boys glanced at one another before looking down. The princess looked around in confusion as a sudden loud, hallow noise told them they were going over the drawbridge into Castletown.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well," Green said slowly, "it's just that… we knew we would have to put the sword back. But we didn't think it would be this soon."

"Everything is nearly in place now and Ganon is much stronger than Vaati, we can't risk him finding a way to pool all his power in a single sword to destroy it. In the process he would destroy the magic binding the swords together and free himself. I wish there were some other way, but this is safest for all."

Green nodded, though he didn't look up from his hands in his lap. He spoke as blue tried to comment, "Of course Zelda, you know much more about magic than we do. It's selfish to want to stay when we could be putting people in harm's way."

"It might not work," Vio spoke quietly.

"What?" Green asked, looking at him.

"I said, 'it might not work'." Vio met his eyes.

"But what did you mean by that?" asked the princess.

The intelligent teen turned to look the princess in the eye. "For a long time now I've known this journey would likely end in our sealing away a great evil within the Four Sword. So I've been researching what happened the last two times Vaati was defeated. Princess, did you know the common versions of those tails are not what truly happened?"

She calmly met his gaze. "I know that nearly each time a tale or legend is told there is some embellishment added to it. Over time the old stories are bound to have a few inaccuracies."

"I thought so as well, but I've had the chance to travel through a great many towns, and it's amazing how the oldest manuscripts all seem to be almost precisely accurate, save for the same few errors." He was staring at her now; she met his eyes with only a shrug as she answered.

"From time to time the current royalty has seen fit to change a few details of each tale. To protect the truth of Hyrule or her people, sometimes the truth must be hidden. It has only happened a few times, and each is regrettable. Yet no harm is done by these few revisions."

"Perhaps, but I have found a few unrevised versions of the tails, and they seem to say something the revised ones do not."

"Oh? And what do these unrevised tails say?" Her voice was cool, the question was almost condescending. Yet Vio's tone stayed level as ever as he answered.

"That never before has the hero had to use the Four Sword throughout his quest… that he has only needed it in the final battle and a few separate times before. This means his split personalities never would have had the time to grow into their own separate people before he returned them to one body and mind again. Each would always be reliant on the others of the group to balance themselves out without having time apart to grow on their own." There was a short pause, when the princess didn't comment and her eyes strayed to the window beside him, Vio continued.

"Yet this time the hero drew and called upon the Sword's power from the beginning, so from the beginning we have been apart. Almost two months we've been separate minds in separate bodies, and in that time we have all grown into our own people. We are no longer just parts of a whole so we will not all fit within a single body."

Green was feeling a little uncomfortable between the two cool teens, and very confused. He didn't really want to… but he decided he had to cut in anyway.

"So what does that mean for us?" he asked.

The princess looked out the window as Vio looked to the forest clad teen and answered. "It means that if we do put the sword back and it turns our four bodies into one, our minds… or maybe our souls, will fight for dominance within the body. Likely to the death, as no body is meant to house more than one of each mind or soul. Either that or, it simply doesn't work. The swords may recognize how different we've become, they might refuse to meld themselves and us into one form again. However, it might not happen that way either, this has never happened before. It is impossible to say what the result will be for certain; everything could just explode… though that is unlikely."

The princess looked back over. "I'm not sure I believe you though. You say you found these unrevised manuscripts, yet I am sure the royals of the time would have taken great care to keep them where they would be safe and unable to be found. If you could prove what you say I might be more inclined to see things your way, but as it is…" She left the sentence hanging, though her words were much warmer than before, almost like she was trying to comfort him.

He looked to her again and answered, "Those that I found were only copies, true. Yet I know where the originals are, within the private royal library at the castle, and what they are called. Princess, if you will allow me a single hour I will find them and prove to you the truth, that there is a good chance it will not work the way you intend." Vio looked at her steadily a moment before adding, "Consider it a last request if I am proven wrong."

The princess looked at him with a level gaze, before a small frown Green hadn't even noticed cleared itself from her face. With an equally small smile she nodded and looked away before responding with, "Request granted, I will take you to the library you speak of, though we will have to speak to my Impa**(1)** about unlocking the door as I do not carry the key on me."

Vio nodded, though she wasn't looking, and turned to gaze his own window. The curtain was thin enough he could see the people and buildings outside with little trouble.

Red and Blue had been following the conversation back and forth like a tennis match, each hardly daring to breathe at points and wanting to add something at others, but they both knew they didn't really have anything important to say. Neither really understood what was being talked about, but they knew it was important, about them, and that they shouldn't interfere. Now that it was obviously over though, Blue turned to the princess in front of him.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I don't really care about some books that are probably old enough to turn to dust the moment I touch them. I'm hungry, so can I just go down to the kitchens and get something to eat?"

"I want to go to!" Red called as the princess looked over at them.

"Yes why not." She said with a small smile. "I'll send someone to fetch you when it's time to go to the maidens."

Blue nodded at her, "Thank you Princess Zelda."

Then there was nothing else to talk about so everyone went to looking out their respective windows. Well except for Red, who was looking at Blue, and Green, who was looking at Vio.

_/Could that really happen?/_ wondered the forest clad blond. _/Could Vio be right, could trying to put the sword back kill one, or even, **all** of us?/_ Green thought about everything that could mean. Soon he was so lost in thought he didn't notice when the teen he was staring at turned and met his eyes.

Vio felt eyes on him, so after a moment he turned to meet them and was a little surprised when he saw Green staring at him. The violet clad boy's icy blue eyes narrowed slightly in confusion a moment before they smoothed back out. He recognized the look in the other's cerulean eyes; it was the slightly glazed over Green got whenever he was deep in thought about something. And Vio had certainly given him quite a bit to think about in the last few minutes. The intelligent teen decided to stare at him back, mostly to see the look in his face when he realized he'd been caught staring. It only took a little while, during which the dusk clad blond entertained himself by analyzing the look of determination that seemed to have engraved itself into the other's features.

It didn't take long; soon Green was blinking the glaze from his eyes and focusing on what was before him. All it took was the raising of one delicate eyebrow from the male beside him and a bright blush spread across the leader's cheeks.

"Thinking of anything interesting?" asked the intelligent one quietly.

"Wha-? Oh, umm ya actually… I was just wondering if Vaati could have known that we might not be able to put the sword back, if he kept us separate." Green paused before slowly continuing, not aware that everyone else in the carriage was listening. "I just remembered a lot of times we needed to be separate, in order to get past the enemies or traps he had waiting for us. Is it possible he knew the hero had never used the sword continuously before? And, if he did, did he know a way to destroy the swords if he was trapped in them separately for a long time?"

"It is entirely possible," said the princess almost immediately. "Therefore it is doubly important that we put the swords back quickly."

Green nodded, though he was still looking at Vio. The smart teen didn't react, except to say, "That may be…" as he turned to look out the window again.

The space inside the carriage was quiet for a few more awkward moments, the only sound being the staccato claps of the horses' hooves and the high rumble of the wooden wheels against the cobblestone road.

Then there was a murmured, "Whoa," from outside the carriage and it quickly slowed. Barely a moment passed before the door closest to the princess was opening and the voice of the driver came from below them.

"We're back to the castle, milady." The short man in light blue said stiffly though his voice was quiet.

"Thank you, Kurten." Spoke the princess as she took his offered hand to help her down the three steep steps. Once she was down he moved to the side, though he still held the door open for Green, Vio, Red, and then Blue. When they were all out they turned to watch the driver fold the stairs back up and shut the door before he swiftly climbed up into the driver's seat and flipped the reins against the horses' flanks to get them started. The horses began to move away and the princess made a small sound, the teens all quickly turned to face her.

"If you will all follow me," she spoke as she turned and led the way up the stairs to the castle.

They followed up the long staircase, seeing again the huge wooden gate at the top. They had almost forgotten what a huge structure the castle really was, with its thick marble walls and high spires that almost scratched at the sky. A few birds flew around a spire as they watched, and the few clouds drifted slowly by. Looking down they saw few patches of burned grass and destroyed turf, from where the brainwashed guards had thrown bombs at them the last time they'd come. The birds spoke of peace, but the scars of the evil that had attacked were not yet healed.

Through the first gate they walked, into the large grassy area within the castles' high walls. They each remembered coming here just after Vaati began his attack, how many times they got lost within the huge structure. How many keys they had to go back and find; but mostly how hard it was to raise their swords against the guards, their friends, who were now waiving and saluting the teens for saving the kingdom. Just as they were nearing the end of the courtyard the princess glanced back and spoke.

"Blue, the kitchens are to your right once we get inside. You'll have to go down the first stairwell you find, but if you get lost just remember the kitchens are all along the eastern wall."

"Thank you," the strongest teen answered shortly as they came upon the second huge gate.

There was a shout from the walkway above and an answering shout from either side. The boys remembered the ropes that had to be pulled on either side before the next gate would open. The princess didn't pause, and just as it looked like she was going to walk headlong into the wooden gate, it rose before her. Several pair of thin eyebrows rose at the short display but no word was spoken.

Then they were inside and the light smell of torches and sweet incense hung in the warm air. The carpet was just as deep a red as they remembered, an almost jarring color compared to the off white marble walls above. They walked into the brightly lit room a short distance before they crossed a long hall.

"See ya later then," Blue said with a wave as he turned off to the right. The princess gave him a short nod and turned back the way she had been going as Red sprinted to Blue's side. Green and Vio waved back but didn't slow as they followed the princess down the main hall.

* * *

><p>(1) All will be explained... the possessive is intentional and I apologize in advance to all who have played Ocarina of Time. 'Impa' is not a name here, it is a title, like Knight.<p>

**Success, another chappie written! This is a much faster update because I've been procrastinating my college homework... a lot. And I found my notes, which always helps, but anyway... Remember, any and all Questions, Comments, Concerns, or Happy Thoughts are always appreciated! And review, because reviews are like heart pieces; they revive my strength and give me the will to keep going! They also tell me when I've missed something up and/or haven't explained it well enough. So ask me your questions, they are not stupid or obvious And they give me ideas! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay for Flashbacks...**

Then they were inside and the light smell of torches and sweet incense hung in the warm air. The carpet was just as deep a red as they remembered, an almost jarring color compared to the off white marble walls above. They walked into the brightly lit room a short distance before they crossed a long hall.

"See ya later then," Blue said with a wave as he turned off to the right. The princess gave him a short nod and turned back the way she had been going as Red sprinted to Blue's side. Green and Vio waved back but didn't slow as they followed the princess down the main hall.

**CH IV**

They had walked for almost a minute down endless halls before a maid appeared around a corner.

"Oh! Princess Zelda, did you need anything?" Why she was so startled by the princess, who lived in the castle, neither male knew.

"Actually, yes," she responded warmly. "Would you please find my Impa and tell him I need him at the royal library on the second floor, at the south door?"

"Right away milady," the young maid turned and walked off the way they had come.

Without a word the princess continued the way they had been going, soon they came upon a stone staircase that curved as it went up. Neither teen recognized it as they climbed, but they hadn't recognized anything else either, and Green was getting slightly uncomfortable. He was used to silence from Vio, but he didn't remember the princess being this way. So he decided to ask something he'd been wondering about since he first heard the new term in the carriage.

"Um, Zelda. Who's your Impa? And what is an Impa?"

She turned and gave him a small smile as she answered, "I forgot you didn't know. A prince or princess's most personal guardian is their Impa. Back during the time of the Legend of the Hero of Time, the Shekian guard who protected the princess was named Impa. Through the years it has become the title for the position of personal protector. When a royal child turns five, a tournament is held. Men and women who know, and are extraordinary at, magic come from all over the country to participate. The winner becomes the young child's bodyguard, and lifelong friend.

"For the royal child's safety a bond of magic is formed between the two, though the royal hardly ever notices it, the Impa can feel it when the other is injured in any way. It was once common practice to form a much stronger bond, but it was found to drive the Impa into a berserk rage whenever the child had even a small accident. Since then the strength of the bond was weakened. But there still will be no threat to the child; no one can even enter the challenge without allowing a mental scan from the current King's Impa. The scan ensures the contestants are of pure heart and intention."(1)

As the princess had spoken they had taken several more turns down the stone halls with deep red carpeted floors. Both boys were thoroughly lost without a single recognizable landmark, but they had been last time as well. They focused on the princesses words as they walked, thinking about what they meant.

"What is your Impa like?" asked Vio slowly.

"He's… unique. He is nearly my age, which is unusual. The tournament had to be held again after I returned, as my first Impa died trying to protect my father from that _Shadow's_ demon army."

The princess didn't notice Vio's flinch at the venom in her voice as she mentioned Shadow, but Green did. However the princess continued.

"It is unusual for an Impa to be male, especially for a princess, since a relationship between the Impa and the royal child is forbidden. But my father's Impa has assured me that won't be an issue with him."

"Does the Impa ever get to have a relationship?" Green asked to keep her talking. The look of pain had not completely lifted from his friend's face.

"Oh yes, it isn't often, but it isn't unheard of either. The Impa can have a relationship with anyone not of the royal family."

"Oh, okay then." And all was quiet as they walked to a lighter area with slightly narrower halls, turning a corner they saw a person standing ahead. As they grew closer they could make out the other's features.

It was a boy of about their age, with brown hair and pale skin, as if he rarely went outside. He wore deep green clothes, similar in style to the royal guards', but with many more decorative pieces. His arms were crossed; Vio could see slightly long and pale fingers connected to a thin wrist. His boots were deep brown and not as tall as Vio's own. As the three neared they noticed he stood across the hall from a set of large wooden doors, and appeared to be staring at the base of them. Also he stood like he was made of stone, perfectly still.

Just as the princess took a breath to speak his head snapped up and his eyes met hers before glancing to the teens behind her. They were yellow; bright like molten gold and as he neared Vio could have sworn he saw a few flecks of purple and green as well. The eyes were lightly set under dark brown eyebrows that were just a little thick. Under them was a pair of high, wide cheekbones and a rather sharp nose above a smallish chin. A rather nice face, both heroes thought. (2)

He nodded to the princess, "You asked for me, Princess?" His voice was slightly deep and rather soft, though it carried well. He enunciated each word perfectly, pulling out the two syllables of the word 'princess' to make it seem much more respectful.

"Yes, I did. I would like you to meet two of the four heroes, Green and Vio."

He smiled at each of them in turn, "I suppose there are no prizes for guessing which is which."

The teens smiled and the princess nodded as she spoke, "You would be right. Would you please unlock the door so that Vio can continue to argue with me?" She gave a small smile to show no harm was meant as Vio began to protest.

"I do not argue for the sake of argument, I'm not Blue. I argue to sway your opinion to my side, because I believe I am right and I have written proof."

"I understand," she said as her Impa moved to the large doors. The sound of jingling keys was heard, the falling of tumblers close behind, and the door opened. The brown haired Impa moved inside the pitch black room first, gesturing to the right. Suddenly a light bloomed on his face, like a torch had suddenly been lit in the direction he had gestured in. As the others followed him in it turned out a torch _was_ burning. Once the others were all in he turned to the left of the door and gestured again, all the teens watched as a torch suddenly bloomed to life, spluttering for a second before it caught.

They all looked at it a moment before Green spoke.

"That's cool."

The Impa turned to him and spoke in that same soft voice. "Thank you Green. In truth, I'm only able to do that because I myself have spent quite a portion of my free time here recently; I know where the torches are by heart."

"It's still cool, I can't do any magic."

"Have you ever truly tried?"

The question hung there for a moment, "Well… no. Not really."

"Then you don't know if you can or not." His voice was nearly completely without inflection as he spoke.

Green paused and Vio spoke up. "How is this library organized? I need to know where the book I'm looking for should be."

The princess answered him. "Chronologically, and the timeline is shaped like a horseshoe. The oldest are in the back right corner, they get newer as you move up to the doors, then away down the left side with the very newest in the back left corner."

"Thank you," was all he spoke and he was off to the right, looking on the ends of the shelves for the date of the books within. The others followed a few steps behind him as the Impa began lighting a dozen or so candles within a crystal chandelier overhead. Green enjoyed the focused look on Vio's face as he searched. He wasn't exactly sure _why_ he liked to see Vio intently searching for ancient books in probably the _oldest_ library in all Hyrule, but he was sure he did.

After a moment the violet clad teen darted down an aisle, searching the books rapidly. Each book had a small bookmark sticking out of the top with a date, these the blond skimmed for several moments before he suddenly froze.

Everything was still a moment before Green asked, "What's wrong?"

Because something was definitely wrong, the intelligent blond seemed to have frozen solid. At the sound of his leader's voice he melted though, nearly into a puddle on the ground. Before anyone could move to catch him he fell heavily to a knee. Green was immediately at his side, with a hand on the dusk clad teen's shoulder.

"What's wrong Vio, answer me."

The disappointed teen looked at the lowest shelf and mumbled something as the thought of, 'without them I'll never save Shadow,' passed through his head.

"What was that?" asked Green.

"I said, 'they're gone'. The two books I need are both gone." As he spoke he put two finger tips against the base of a shelf, sure enough there was an empty space. Glancing up to the place he'd stared at before, Green saw another empty space.

"You wanted two of the books on the Four Sword?" The Impa suddenly asked.

Vio's head snapped up, blond locks flying. "Yes. The two true firsthand accounts of the two heroes, you know of them?"

"I've actually been researching the magic blade myself for some time, nearly since I gained my position. I have the books you need. If you will wait here, I will retrieve them."

Vio slumped again, this time in relief. "Thank you… that would be appreciated."

The Impa turned to the princess. "Princess, if I may?"

"Of course, be swift."

"I shall," with that he walked quickly toward the door. Suddenly though he stopped and turned to face the others. The boys looked at him in confusion, as he shut his eyes, and were just about to ask him why he had stopped when… he vanished. One moment he was standing there with his eyes closed, the next there was a sound like a thunderbolt in the room and a small cloud of dust came up where he had stood. The floor seemed to jump under their feet, trying to buck them off, and the candle chandelier above softly tinked as it settled.

"Where did he go?" Green fairly shouted, startled by the noise more than the disappearance.

"Yes, where?" asked Vio.

For a moment the princess merely smiled at them before saying, "He went to where the books were. You asked him to get them for you after all."

"But how did he do that?" Green was a little calmer after seeing the princess stay so calm.

"I told you, he had to defeat many other mages in order to become my Impa. That particular ability proved to be immensely useful during the competition. How he did it though, I could not tell you even if I knew." She seemed amused by his surprise.

Green sighed and turned to his companion, who had the smallest frown on his face as he looked to the princess. Just as Green was about to ask about it though there was a loud booming from the hall, a moment later the Impa returned.

"I'm sorry," he said and it looked genuine in his bright purple eyes, flecked with gold(3). "I did not mean to startle you, I forgot how loud it is when I teleport."

"No harm done," Vio said as he gracefully rose and stepped to the table the Impa had stopped at. He looked down at the four volumes the teen spread across the surface and added, "Yet I believe I only missed two books."

"That is true, but these other two also hold information on the blade, though they are newer and are books on magical theory. As I do not know what you are arguing about, I did not know if they would help. Yet they are books I found helpful in my research and I thought it prudent to bring then and only take one trip." The two heroes were getting used to his quiet voice, and even found a little inflection to the words, but not much.

Vio slowly picked up a book as the other two neared the table. Green decided he would pass the time Vio would take finding the passages, by explaining the argument to the Impa.

"It's not a big thing really, they're just fighting for something to do I think." Two sets of glaring eyes turned up to the sheepishly grinning blond, who pulled his hands up in a pacifying gesture, before they turned back to the book in Vio's hands. "Or not, hehe. But, as far as I can tell, Vio is saying the Four Sword may not accept us. He thinks that we've been apart too much and gotten our own personalities. He doesn't think the sword will be able to turn us back into one without three of us dying at best, and all of us dying a painful death at worst.

"The princess is saying that nothing will go wrong, and that either way we have to try and put the sword back anyway in order to seal Ganon."

He'd noticed the Impa had mostly green eyes with hints of yellow as he'd spoke. Vio looked up from his book with a slightly surprised expression. "I'm impressed you were listening that closely, that you could synthesize it all so well, and leaving so little of importance out…" With the thought hanging he turned back to the book in his arms, turning it slightly to better catch the firelight.

The Impa thought for a minute before nodding, though Green noticed the nod seemed more to himself, as if agreeing with a private thought. Before the forest clad hero could ask about it though his companion spoke.

"Here it is, princess, I told you the other heroes had only used their swords a few times during their journeys, here is a passage that describes just that." And as Vio read his voice took on a slightly different rhythm and tone, sounding almost plaintive.

" 'I'm glad the hero work is over for another reason too, those others –part of me or not– were incredibly annoying. My blue side never wanted to work as a group, always thinking his plan was better than my own. The one in red was always so scared of hurting everyone's feelings; he hardly ever spoke and when he did he asked such personal questions about our 'emotions'. And that one in purple, he always hated the rest of me calling him purple but what else was I supposed to call him… I'm glad I didn't need to ask the sword for its help any more than I did; splitting myself was always so exhausting. I might have gone insane if I ever had to deal with them for more than a few days at a time.' "

Vio looked up from his reading with a glance to the Impa and a steady look at the princess. "The hero never used the sword for more than a few days at a time," he repeated. "And he always thought of the parts as _his_ parts. Obviously they never had the time nor encouragement required to grow apart. Yet we have had ample of each. The other passages I would read have similar meanings, similar ideas, shall I turn to them as well?" The words were almost a challenge, spoken in the ever calm voice that was Vio.

Yet the princess shook her head slightly, "No, that won't be needed of you." She looked up at her Impa a moment before turning to Green. "So, what do you propose we do, if putting the sword back won't work anyway?"

Green looked startled by the question the princess had so obviously directed at him. Vio shifted forward, almost between the two, and after regaining her attention answered her.

"I suggest we try your course of action first; there is, after all, still the possibility that I am wrong." Green and the princess seemed slightly surprised by that after his pronouncements of disaster before, but Vio didn't pause. "If I am right, however, I think we should be allowed to search for the gems that were the keys to the Sky-tall Tower; the same gems that were once used in the making of our swords after it was broken and repaired. With the gems' power we could easily harness our individual elemental magic, as well as be powerful enough to destroy the small part of Ganon that would be still trapped in each sword."

The princess considered it a moment, "It is an interesting idea," she began. "Yet those gems are scattered across Hyrule by Ganon's minions, the knights have told me and the maidens confirmed it. You are sure each of you has the ability to harness the elemental magic?" She added the last like an afterthought.

Vio nodded, "Green already uses air, and Red uses fire quite well. I've practiced some with Earth and tricked Blue into moving water. With a little time I'm sure that the four of us could become quite proficient in our respective fields, especially with the gems."

The princess looked down, looking a little troubled. Then she spoke slowly, "That may work… yet." She looked up and met Vio's eyes. "The gems you ask for are scattered across the land and could take ages to hunt down, depending on how well the minions managed to hide them. I propose a compromise. You, Green, and the other Links, at least try to place the sword back in the pedestal so the maidens and I can seal Ganon away for a certainty. If it doesn't work you and the others can stay here for… two weeks, learning the power of the elements without worrying about anything else. If, at the end of those two weeks, you can all prove you have the potential to control the massive power of the gems… then I will gladly speed you on the quest. If the sword stays split I will even search for any sight or sign of the jewels in that time, and tell you all I can find on their whereabouts."

"That sounds like a good plan," Green said as he stepped up to Vio's side. "But who would we learn from? We would have to have some kind of teacher who knew what they were doing."

The princesses' cool blue eyes turned up to the Impa who stood behind the heroes. "Would you be willing to teach them? Your skill with all the elements far surpasses any I've known."

The brunette showed no surprise at having suddenly been volunteered, though Vio got the impression that was a mask. "I would be honored to share any skill I have with the heroes of Hyrule. If I am going to be teaching them I would feel more comfortable if they did not always call me by my title, as I have not yet earned it."

She nodded, "Who you share your true name with has always been your choice."

He nodded and turned to the males before him.

"I look forward to spending more time with you, my birth name is Fayhem."

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong> Yay for another Chappie completed! Sorry it took so long, College homework is amazingly so much harder than High school homework, they taunt you with the shorter classes so you THINK you have more free time, but you Really DON'T.(and it's 2 am as I write this, so sorry for typos in the authors note... if they ex8ist...

**(1)If any of that didn't make sense to anyone Please tell me. Actually that goes for everything.**

**(2)He looks Native American, just really pale instead of tan and brown hair instead of black.**

**(3)His eyes change color too, ya…**

I'm trying to make it seem as though the order from oldest to newest is Minish Cap, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and then Four Swords. All that is a little confusing I know, but if I ever get around to writing out the history as a dialogue I'll include it. And Yay for the longest Chappie Yet! ...In case someone cares I listened to "Goodnight and Go" by Imogen Heap and the Minish Cap "Temple of Droplets" theme as I wrote this. I like the theme for the castle.


	5. Chapter 5

The brunette showed no surprise at having suddenly been volunteered, though Vio got the impression that was a mask. "I would be honored to share any skill I have with the heroes of Hyrule. If I am going to be teaching them I would feel more comfortable if they did not always call me by my title, as I have not yet earned it."

She nodded, "Who you share your true name with has always been your choice."

He nodded and turned to the males before him.

"I look forward to spending more time with you, my birth name is Fayhem."

** CH V**

"It's nice to meet you, Fayhem." Vio said as he reached out and shook hands with the brunette."But, if I may ask, why are you so reluctant to share your name?"

Almost pure purple eyes met his, before they closed and Fayhem sighed. "There are many different kinds of magic," he began as he turned and shook Green's hand. "Most are tied to the elements in one way or another, but not all. There are many which tap into the mind or emotions. Some spells have a tracking aspect which is directed by the memory of a name; therefore the more people who know my name, the easier I am to find. Few know the name of the person who won the tournament and therefore became the new Impa. The fewer the people who know my name, the safer I, and the Princess, will be. That is why a nickname is given to each contestant, so no one knows the others' true name and none can use that form of magic against another. That doesn't stop many from learning the magic though."

"Who would want to hurt you?" asked Green.

"Some of those who I bested have a grudge, and therefore a reason to hunt me. Also, all those with ill intent toward the Princess know of her lifetime protector. And they know that protector is in their way."

Vio looked closely at the brunette. "If there is so much danger why tell us your name at all?"

"Partly as a sign of trust and partly because, if I am to teach you magic, I can teach you how to shield your minds from such attacks. Also you could learn how to track it to its source and how to attack the caster, if you so wish." Fayhem's response was relaxed but both heroes noticed the hopeful lit at the end.

"Do you have many of these enemies then?" Vio asked.

"No more that was to be expected; defeating my opponents at such a young age and becoming an Impa right after a major evil had been defeated… which left many minions without a leader."

"So, quite a few then," Green said with a slight smile. Fayhem nodded at him with a smile of his own.

By this time the princess was done with being ignored. She cleared her throat rather loudly to get their attention and as everyone looked at her she smiled, though there was no happiness in it. "I believe it was agreed that we can finally go to the sanctuary and put the sword back… yes?"

"We will try it, yes." Vio answered.

"Good," and without another word the princess turned and lead the way out into the hall. The heroes followed with a glance back to the Impa, who sighed at being left without instructions... again. He closed the open book, and created a breeze to blow out the lights, before following the three blondes down the hall.

The princess was walking fast; the heroes nearly had to jog to keep up. Suddenly though she stopped and turned, the guys nearly fell down in their efforts not to run into her.

"Oh," she said as she looked to her Impa, who was just re-locking the door to the library. "Could you go down to the kitchens in the East Wing? The other two bearers of the Four Sword wished to get something to eat before they returned their blade."

"Yes, Princess." Came the soft, yet clear, response before the Impa turned and walked the opposite direction down the never ending hall. After a few moments of walking all three blondes heard the thunderous boom of Fayhem teleporting.

So they were walking again, through the endless maze of corridors and passages that made the innards of the castle. This time the princess was walking quite a bit faster though, so the males soon began to get quite a distance away from their guide. This didn't bother them though; they wanted to talk over things without being overheard.

"So what was the point of all that?"Asked Green, so quietly he barely heard himself. Yet he knew Vio must have been heard, as he responded.

"I assume you're talking about letting the princess take us to the sanctuary to return the blade."

"You would assume right." Green was just a little irritated, yet Vio still didn't turn so he continued. "I thought the whole point of this was to get her to _not_ make us go."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. In order for this to work I needed you and the princess to both believe that was my goal."

"Then would you please tell me what the goal of all of this really was?" Green practically hissed. It was just like when Vio pretended to turn evil all over again. He didn't know what was going on in the intelligent teen's head, he was being lied to by the smartest member of the group, and he hated it. Not to mention that last time Vio had left him out of something it hadn't exactly ended well.

Finally Vio turned his eyes from the princess to Green's own; in them the leader of the group saw regret and sadness. Yet both emotions were quickly masked as the violet clad blond began to explain.

"The original goal was, get the princess to allow us to search for the Elemental Jewels before we tried to put the sword back. However, as we rode back in the carriage I saw that this is not the same princess who was originally captured by Shadow."

There was a moments silence before Green loudly said, "What? What do you mean?"

Vio turned back to the princesses form as he quietly continued, "It is the same princess in body, but not in mind. Being captured and held prisoner, completely without power of any kind, forced to watch anything and everything she cared about destroyed… It changed the sweet and kind girl that knew Link into someone much more cold hearted. She likely had to change in order to survive the experience, but she nearly might as well be an entirely different person now. The change will likely turn out to be a good thing; she has a determination now that she didn't possess before. I only have to make a few small changes to my plans for the new princess to accept them. Trying the sword now is one of those changes." Suddenly Vio stopped and faced the blond beside him, going so far as to put a hand on Green's shoulder to stop him.

Every part of Green froze at Vio's touch; the violet clad male had always been slightly uncomfortable with touching, and Green had always respected that. Green turned slowly to face the other as he worked to keep surprise and curiosity as the only expressions on his face.

Vio's face was determined, though his voice was soft. "Green, I need you to hear me, to hear this." Green simply gave a slight nod, not trusting himself to speak, and Vio went on. "It. Will. Not. Work… When we hold our swords above the pedestal and they begin to blend together, they will not bring us with them. I need you to remember this, because what will happen will be painful and you need to be ready. Our minds and bodies are still slightly connected; we will never be able to truly grow apart until the sword rejects us and severs that connection. The process is bound to be painful, and if the severing itself isn't then the next part will be. When the blades sever our bond, the magic that holds them together will also be severed; each element within each blade will become independent from the others. A normal Hylian body has equal amounts of each element within them, but each of us will only have our one element within us in that first moment. I don't know if our bodies will pull in the surrounding elemental magic to fill the void, or if we will survive without any of the other elements within ourselves." Vio squeezed Green's shoulder lightly as he said, "Either way, it will reject us, and it will be painful."

Green nodded again, Vio dropped his hand just as the princesses voice rang out.

"Why did you stop? The maidens will be ready and waiting by the time we get there. The others were closer and you're stopping?" She sounded put out as she faced them with hands on hips.

"I just felt a little dizzy," Vio called easily as he turned and began to move toward the princess. "I guess I should have gotten more to eat this morning."

"None of us could really eat, everyone was too excited." Green agreed quickly.

The princess looked a little sad by the stop, but not suspicious of a lie, and as soon as it looked like they weren't going to do it again she turned and resumed walking.

Green looked over and caught the other male's eyes, "You're sure it won't work?" he barely whispered.

"As sure as I've ever been," Vio whispered back with pure sincerity in his voice.

After that the three walked through the red carpeted halls of the castle without words. This time Green didn't mind so much though as he had more than enough to think about. So deep was he in thought that he didn't notice when the walls around began to look more and more familiar, and older, as they walked progressively deeper into the castle.

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

"Green! Vio!" and with only that as warning a red cannonball shot around the corner and nearly tackled Green to the ground. Vio would have been caught in the hug too if he hadn't side sidestepped at the last minute and the lack of another body sent little Red spinning as Green tried to slow them. Vio looked up to see Blue leaning against a wall, watching with a little more than the usual amount of mild annoyance on his face.

"Whoa Red, we were only gone for an hour." Green tried to calm the ever happy teen, though he really didn't look old enough to be called a teen.

"Well, we might not have another chance to hug… he said we were coming to put the sword back." Red looked over his shoulder at the princesses Impa, who stood quietly in a dark place between torches, as Blue came from his place against the wall to stand close to the three with a small scowl. Though, that was the way his face normally looked... unless he was fighting something or he knew he had to be respectful.

Vio glanced at the large door the princess had gone through, giving them some privacy he assumed. The Impa too was far away to hear so Vio leaned close to the small boy who still stood under Green's arm and, well aware of how close the princess was, whispered. "I'm going to tell you two something but I need you to stay quiet about it, okay?" When the smallest blond nodded he looked up to Blue, who rolled his eyes but nodded anyway. "When we try to put the swords back, it won't work. I am completely and totally sure that this will not work the way the princess intends."

Red started to light up in preparation to shout happily, but Blue was faster. "How do you know; how could you know something like that? You didn't know anything for sure on the way up here." Blue practically growled the low words.

Vio sighed lightly, "I am sorry for that, I was nearly sure then but I couldn't let the princess know. I had to make her think that none of us knew what would happen, that we all thought this was the end. I knew that in her surprise, when we don't become one, she would immediately fall back on the plan B.

Originally I regretted this plan," he began to defend himself under several angry glares he got for even thinking of using the princess for anything. "But once I'd gotten to talk with her a little I found that she isn't the same princess that Link as a single person knew. She changed when she was captured and held prisoner. She is much more cold hearted and selfish now, though it's likely just part of the way she's dealing with the loss of so much she took for granted, she is definitely never going to go all the way back to the princess Link knew. A good part of the reason she is making us put the sword back so quickly is that she wants her Link back, and we aren't him."

"But," Green said quietly into the pause. "How do you know she wants Link back?"

"Because of the way she looks at you." Vio answered immediately. "She calls you Green; she's never called any of the rest of us by our names except for when she first met us, and when she introduced you and me to her Impa. Even when she asked him to go get Blue and Red, she called them 'the bearers of the Four Sword', instead of by their names."

There was a moment's pause; if any of the heroes had looked up they would have seen the Impa standing a little closer than he had before. If Vio had looked he would have noticed how still the Impa stood, how lightly he breathed, to hear the boys' discussion. But no one looked up, instead Red only said quietly…

"Well, why did you tell us this now Vio? If it's so important that the princess has to think this will work…" His small voice trailed off and Vio began to answer.

"Two reasons; first, the princess is close enough to getting what she wants, she is likely not as observant as she would usually be." Here the intelligent teen glanced over to Blue with a small smile before adding. "Second, I knew Blue would probably tear me to pieces if he ever found out I know what I do, and chose not to tell you all before we put the sword back."

"You've got that right, I'm angry that you kept it from us at all." Blue let out a sigh and his eyes strayed to Red as he continued. "But since you had an almost good reason, and the news at least was good, I won't make you regret it. Pull a stunt like this _again_ though, and I won't be so nice." The last words came out as a hiss, but all of them could tell it didn't have any emotion backing it.

Vio nodded anyway though, and at an unspoken signal they all turned and walked the short distance down the uncarpeted hall that had to be older than most of the castle. They walked to the large open door that led to the Princess, the Maidens, and their future.

Whatever it might turn out to be.

* * *

><p>This is mostly a filler chapter, but Vio's deduction is important. Next chapter is the one where lotsa important stuff happens and I will strive to make it longer than this was... grrrrr... Short chapter is short.<p>

This time I listened to Behind Blue Eyes though, in case someone was wondering. I've always thought it fit both Vio and Shadow very well, especially the way Vio's hiding things from his friends..."None of my pain and woe can show through/ But my dreams, they aren't as empty, as my conscience seems to be".

**Goes back to her college-is-death corner to do more homework as thoughts drift to The Breakfast Club**


	6. Chapter 6

**I just wanted to start with a question to all the people who have/are reading this. Why do you all read the first chapter, then jump to the last? My fifth chapter has Twice as many views as the third one... Why?**

**Also, yes this took forever, but that's cause I found no motivation/REVIEWS, they are love people, so come on and spread the love...**

_Dedicated to GreenEyedPurpleRaven, for being inspiration for a scene of this. LURV YOU._

* * *

><p><strong>Last time...<strong>

"You've got that right, I'm angry that you kept it from us at all." Blue let out a sigh and his eyes strayed to Red as he continued. "But since you had an almost good reason, and the news at least was good, I won't make you regret it. Pull a stunt like this _again_ though, and I won't be so nice." The last words came out as a hiss, but all of them could tell it didn't have any emotion backing it.

Vio nodded anyway though, and at an unspoken signal they all turned and walked the short distance down the uncarpeted hall that had to be older than most of the castle. They walked to the large open door that led to the Princess, the Maidens, and their future.

Whatever it might turn out to be.

**CH VI**

The heroes walked through the large, stone doorway and into a room they all remembered. Though the memory was from one set of eyes, it was still the unmistakable room where the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary could be called up; with the slightly raised, eight sided platform and large, shallow indentation in the center. But there was something about this that had always confused Green, and he decided to ask about it as he caught sight of the princess. He walked a little ahead of the others and she looked to him as he approched.

"Umm, Zelda, why do we have to come here and go through the portal to get to the sanctuary? We had to walk on nearly the same path to get to the castle from the wind palace that we took when we first. Wouldn't it have been shorter to just go to the sanctuary from there?"

The princess smiled softly at him as she answered, "Yes, it would likely have been shorter to get to where this portal last took you, to have gone that way. But you would not have found the Sanctuary there, or the Pedestal within."

The others had come over by now and were sharing faces of confusion at the words so she continued. "After all the difficulty the hero had last time with Vaati, the princess placed a spell on the entire area of the sanctuary. This spell made the area become magically invisible whenever any Hylian tried approach. She tied the spell back to this room, so only by the portal here can any access the sanctuary. The goddesses must have blessed her, for the magic to have stayed so strong for centuries after her death." The princess looked over at the room as she added, "It makes me glad to think that I will be following in the steps of an ancient Princess of Hyrule."

With that she turned back to the boys, "Are you ready?" she asked as she looked to each of them. They nodded and she began to walk to her place around the large indentation as she went on.

"The maidens and I will open the portal and you will each go through. Since it takes much more power to first open it than to hold it open I will be able to follow you after a moment. Then once the blade is returned I will send a signal to my Impa who will send out the royal carriage and meet us about half way."

Nothing the princess said was a question, so the guys decided no response was needed, well, most of them did.

"What if it doesn't work, princess?" Vio repeated.

The princess looked at him a moment before saying, "Then the carriage ride back will be a crowded one indeed, and you may begin the magic training as soon as you, and my Impa, wish."

Vio nodded, it was almost a bow. "Thank you, Princess Zelda," and with that he moved to stand with the others a little ways away on the short stair.

The princess raised her arms to cross them over her chest and the maidens followed, closing their eyes in concentration. After a moment the concentration paid off as a halo of light that matched each maidens' dress formed above each of their heads in quick succession. Soon a larger ring of light formed that encompassed each one's entire body and magic stirred their dresses and hair like wind. The rings shrunk and floated up to hover a short ways above each of their heads as they each turned into a single point of light and the 'wind' increased. Then in one moment they moved their hands up to either side of the bright point and opened their eyes. A bright purplish flower of magic began blooming in the center of the shallow indentation they circled like a water lily. It was beautiful to watch the petals come out from the center and fall to the sides. Then almost without warning the petals moved in reverse and one a bright pillar of light later, the magic lights all dimmed and winked out, leaving only the gentle glow of the portal sparkling in the center.

The princess turned to the heroes on the stairs.

"Heroes of the Four Sword step forward and embrace your destiny."

Green nodded and they filed past her toward the gently glowing portal. He paused a moment before it, watching the sparks of magic drift upward, before stepping into its glow. There was a brief flash of pale green light, and he was gone.

In front of Vio, Blue and Red glanced at one another. The quiet fear was apparent on Red's small face as he reached over and squeezed Blue's hand. The taller teen stepped close and leaned down to whisper something in Red's long ear before he stepped up to the portal himself. The smaller boy smiled brightly, with a flash of icy blue light Blue too was gone.

The smaller boy seemed greatly cheered by whatever Blue had said; he waited only long enough to give a warm smile to Vio before he followed the others into the light. One pink flash later Vio was left alone.

He took a deep breath and looked at the portal a moment before stepping toward it. He wanted to give Red a chance to get out of the way, where ever the portal let out, but he also wanted to try something. He closed his eyes and reached out with what he called his 'magic sense'. Something he and the others always had, it usually told them if there was a challenge ahead that only one of them could remove. From this he now felt the blend of all the maidens' magic, it seemed to swirl and twist in a dance of color.

Suddenly he felt… something. It seemed to be a thought, quiet, in the background of his mind. As he listened closer and it seemed to say 'Run away'. He didn't react; he merely listened as whispered words began to overlap, to paint a picture in his mind. They spoke of him leaving, with the excuse of needing to use the bathroom, or get something… or no excuse at all. He could just leave, live separately and take the life he wanted for himself. He was intelligent enough, he could have any life he wanted anywhere he wanted. The portal was a one way trip, the others couldn't get here in time and there was no way the Princess could stop him. The words began to fade away then, whispering their last message of 'Escape' in a dozen familiar voices.

Before the sound completely faded he thought back, loudly, 'I wonder who's putting words in my head'. And with that he stepped forward into the portal.

_**Purple**__,_ the entire world was a light glowing purple, a violet like lightning that seemed to pulse lightly with his heartbeat. It was cool in the light, but he was comfortable, the light weight pressing in was comforting rather than confining, as was the moment of darkness before each fresh pulse of light. After seconds or hours the violet began to fade and in its place the Sanctuary appeared. It was far away beneath his feet but coming up fast; he felt the urge to laugh. He had always been slightly afraid of heights but now, somehow, he knew he wouldn't be hurt, and it was fun to fall.

Just as it seemed too late to possibly slow, his body nearly stopped, midair. His feet lightly touched the ground and with only a glance around he walked to where he had noticed the others, a small smile on his face.

"You look happy," Green spoke with a smile of his own as the last hero approached the group, who stood in the sun near a stone wall.

"There is no reason not to be, I forgot how enjoyable the trip here was." Vio answered smoothly. "Are we ready to prove ourselves as truly separate?" There was a resounding 'yes', mostly from Blue.

Suddenly there was another flash of light, when it faded the princess appeared. She looked excited; Vio wondered how excited she would be when this was over. As everyone looked to her he stooped down behind them to place something in the shade of a wall.

"Are you ready?" her voice was a touch impatient. The guys nodded and took her words as a cue to move toward the center of the sanctuary. After a moment's hesitation they formed a circle around it. They reached out, with their swords reversed in their grip so the blade pointed down. Each of them looked up and shared a small smile, none noticing the light – unnatural – breeze that was picking up to swirl around them. As one they slowly lowered their swords and just before three of the points would have met the flat stone of the pedestal they were pulled together, blurring as they stretched into one again. The rest of the blade soon followed, almost becoming transparent, like their hands as they too began to be stretched and pulled together. 'It will NOT work', Vio repeated to himself as he stared at his own wrist and the joined hands. For a moment time seemed to stop, the world was silent, the wind had stopped, the blending stopped, everything froze. Then all the boys heard a chorus of voices in their head, but these sounded like the elements themselves speaking. A rushing river, the blowing wind, a crackling fire, and what could only be described as the whispering of darkness itself, spoke together and separately in each of the heroes' minds.

**"It would be a poor way indeed to repay four heroes, who have done so much for people they have never met, by destroying three of their souls. We grant you each the chance to truly grow on their own, no longer tied to your brothers, able to do and go as you please. Make your choices wisely, you still balance one another and are far stronger together than alone." **

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, time seemed to start up again just in time to throw the four boys violently away from the pedestal. With four 'oof's and groans of pain they rubbed bruised backsides a moment before the truth hit them.

"It worked! Or… I guess, it didn't work!" Red smiled brightly as he bounced to his feet, pain forgotten. The others followed suit with matching smiles. Vio turned to the princess to see her standing with her mouth slightly open, despair written clearly across her face. He decided to talk to her, to avoid Red as he nearly tackled the others.

Zelda had been sure this would work, she'd counted on it. Her dreams, which often gave her visions of the future, had even confirmed it. Just last night she had dreamed of her friend, Link, standing beside her as she directed the workers in repairing the town. The repairs were to start in two days and she was sure Link had been the only one there, not these… four… people. She sighed and picked herself up a little, maybe this one wasn't a vision after all. Maybe it had just been a normal dream… or maybe it was just the unvoiced wish of a lonely heart.

But that wasn't the way to think right now, so she turned her thoughts and eyes to the teen that approached her. He was wearing purple… what was his name?

He stepped before her and made a small, though respectful, bow. "It would seem, Princess, as though I was right after all. At least this time you have another plan to fall back on." At the sound of his deep, smooth voice she remembered both the plan he mentioned and his name, 'Vio'.

"Yes, I suppose I do. I can't help but wonder though, why it is that you don't celebrate your success with the others." She was grasping at straws, desperately trying to make up for lost time. She had to know each of these boys as well as she had known Link, to know if she could trust them or not.

At her question Vio shrugged, "Mostly because I don't see it as my success I suppose. It was always the choice of the Goddesses, whether we were one person or not. I merely argued with you about it so that you would have considered all the alternatives, and had time to choose the best course of action. Also, my lack of enthusiasm in comparison to Red's is natural, just another of those things that make us different I guess."

He smiled slightly, and then noticed the princesses eyes widen as she looked over his shoulder. Suddenly realizing it was too quiet he spun around, and was just in time to catch a red cannonball to the chest. They both hit the ground, Vio's back cushioning the fall for Red. The former groaned behind closed eyes from the force of the second impact of the day, once he could breathe, the latter giggled.

Sitting up on his stomach, Red looked down at the dusk clad hero. "If you had joined in with my group hug I wouldn't have had to do that." He smiled brightly a moment before leaning down and lying on the taller ones chest, arms bent up between them. Not even opening his eyes Vio reached down and grabbed the small wrists before twisting his legs, rolling them both. In the blink on an eye their positions were reversed, with the small wrists pinned above the head of the crimson clad teen. Not wanting to crush the smaller one, Vio shifted his weight onto his knees, against the ground between the other's legs.

Icy blue eyes stared down into deep shining blue for a long moment, long enough for a bright blush to appear on the princess's face and a scowl to come to Blue's. Green had to reach out and grab his arm with a quiet "Don't," before Blue started a fight. When finally Vio spoke his voice was quiet but not menacing, it sounded tired.

"You know I don't like it when you do that."

"It was the only way to get your attention." Red quickly interrupted.

"There are plenty of other ways to get my attention than by knocking me into the ground."

"But none of them are nearly so much fun! And you know you don't really mind, long as I don't interrupt you doing something important. You were just talking to Zelda; we'll have the whole ride back to the castle to do that." Red beamed up at his captor when the other didn't reply immediately, instead choosing to close his eyes.

"Even so," Vio finally spoke as he opened ice blue eyes again. "That doesn't mean I have fun getting the wind knocked out of me. Please, Red, don't do that again."

Beneath him the smallest hero gave a small sigh, though he couldn't keep the smile off his face. "O~kay Vio~ …" and he stared up into tired eyes until he was released. Vio knelt there a moment to readjust his tunic, as Red crab crawled backwards before jumping to his feet. Blue immediately moved to his side and Green was still staring at Vio. Turning away, the smart hero rose and walked past the others to the object he'd placed in the shade of the wall. It was the jar that held Shadow's sparks. He looked at them a moment before putting the jar back in his pack.

"What was that?" asked the princess as she stepped toward him. For a moment he froze, remembering the venom in her tone when she'd spoke of Shadow before. In that moment he decided to lie and prayed the others would be fast enough to play along.

"It's a form of condensed magic; I've been studying it for some time but despite its power it doesn't seem to be reactive. It hasn't changed no matter what I've done to it yet I feel it's important. I placed it over here in case I was wrong, I would hate to lose it and all the research I've done simply because my own body was erased from existence." He looked to her eyes as he spoke, forcing his face to remain expressionless.

Apparently she believed him; she merely nodded before turning to the others. "I have to send the message to my Impa now; I'll tell him to bring the large carriage." With that she walked a short way to the shade of a nearby tree and crossed her arms over her chest, almost like she was praying.

Vio moved toward Green and the others.

"Why'd you lie to her?" Blue whispered harshly.

"Because he had to," Green whispered back before Vio could. "She was kidnapped by him, remember? That's not something anyone could easily forgive and she hasn't even tried. If Vio had told her the truth she probably wouldn't trust him for a long time, wouldn't trust any of us either. It's better to keep the truth a secret for not until she sees that we aren't really that different from Link and can trust us. We have to re-earn her trust."

Vio looked at him in surprise a moment; he hadn't thought of that, though it explained a lot. Red spoke then, "But why? Why doesn't she trust us?"

Vio spoke quietly, "The Goddesses themselves just conformed that we aren't the same as Link, and Link is the only one she knew. She trusts us a little because we haven't done anything to break it, but we have to prove that though we are different we are still trustworthy."

"But you just proved she can't trust us by lying to her." Blue hissed.

Green responded in kind. "The only thing Vio did is head off an argument. In his place I would have done the same and I want both of you to say the same as well. It's not a lie that the sparks are condensed magic, they just also happen to be something close to Shadow's soul. It's not a lie that Vio's been studying them, or that he'd be extremely sad if anything happened to them. Is that understood?"

Red nodded, a moment - and a glare from Green - later, Blue nodded as well. Vio gave them all a small smile of thanks as the Princess turned and spoke.

"He heard and is on his way, shall we begin walking to meet him?" Green nodded and lead the other three to her side and then to the entrance of the valley that lead to Castle Town.

* * *

><p><strong>And it will be another month until the next chapter if no one cares enough to review! I wrote it to get feedback, if something's bad Tell Me so it can be fixed. It makes me feel happy inside when I see the little notifications! <strong>

**They feed my soul!**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Fin-a-lly!_**

I got it done folks, just for you. There was a lot of kicking, and screaming, and ducktape burns... but it's done. Thank you, my lovely reviewers, GreenEyedPurpleRaven(the ductape burns are the fault of your commandment), InTheAsylum(thank's for the nourishment; even sparks need it too), msfcatlover(unfair but sometimes unavoidable), and elmorox35(your answer lies within!).

Enjoy as I go off to apply burn cream!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Last time...<span>**

"But you just proved she can't trust us by lying to her." Blue hissed.

Green responded in kind. "The only thing Vio did is head off an argument. In his place I would have done the same thing and I want both of you to say the same thing. It's not a lie that the sparks are condensed magic, they just also happen to be Shadow's soul. It's not a lie that Vio's been studying them, or that he'd be extremely sad if anything happened to them. Is that understood?"

Red nodded, a moment - and a glare from Green - later, Blue nodded as well. Vio gave them all a small smile as the Princess turned and spoke.

"He heard and is on his way, shall we begin walking to meet him?" Green nodded and lead the other three to her side and then to the entrance of the valley that lead to Castle Town.

**_CH VII_**

They walked in almost complete silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts. Realizing this was really happening… that they were walking away from the Sanctuary of the Four Sword for the last time, had a sobering effect.

_ 'What am I gonna do, now that I'm gonna be __**me**__ forever?' _wondered Blue. He wasn't usually one to think ahead, Green and the bookworm usually did that, but now he realized he'd have to. What he told the princess before about becoming part of the royal guards and training new knights, he'd just been repeating something he'd heard Green and Vio talking about a while ago….

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

He'd just woken up and didn't want to move. It wasn't light out yet but he heard quiet voices a little ways away. It sounded like they were trying to be quiet, but he was up anyway so he figured why not listen.

"… right, what do you think we're going to do?" That was Green's voice. "We won't stay together forever; the others will definitely want their own lives."

"Red will likely end up in the castle," that had to be Vio. "He's good at sewing and cooking, plus he's very easy to get along with. He will likely love the castle as soon as he gets inside and the Princess won't be able to turn him away. Not that she'll want to. Blue… he is too hotheaded and prone to violence to do anything except become a knight. I've also noticed he's been trying to train Red lately, and more importantly, Red's actually been showing improvement. If he could just get a handle on his temper, he might even be able to become a trainer of the knights."

"What about us?"

There was a long pause; Blue thought they might have moved away before he heard the bookworm again. "You would likely end up in the castle as well. Being the natural leader you are it wouldn't be hard for you to shift to leading the Knights of Hyrule. With your history of heroic accomplishments you would be respected despite your age, perhaps you could be part of the princess's personal guard."

"And you?" Green pressed.

There was a pause, then, "I haven't decided. Perhaps something out of the public eye with plenty of free time to study what I wished. A Royal Advisor… or something along those lines."

"How's that 'out of the public eye'?"

"Have you ever heard of anyone in that position?"

"Well… no."

Vio's voice seemed fainter now, "Everyone knows each member of the royal family has at least a few advisors, yet no one knows any of the people. They are never mentioned and not known; they live out their lives in the castle and…" Blue could still hear the sound of his voice, but it was too low to make out the words. It was a comfortable noise though and it lulled Blue back to sleep.

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

Now he thought about that conversation again. Before it'd seemed stupid to be thinking that far ahead, especially when they were going to become one person again anyway, yet now it wasn't stupid at all. _'I'm going to become a knight,'_ he said to himself. It sounded good, real good. _'I'm going to train other knights,'_ that sounded good too. He smiled.

Something brushed his hand and he looked down. Beside him was Red, they were walking just behind the princess, and he was smiling too. On impulse Blue reached out and took the smaller hand with in his own. _'And Red's gonna be there too.'_ Somehow this seemed like the icing on the cake.

Red had just been walking beside Blue like he usually did now, watching the birds fly around and the sun shine on the princess's hair. Then he looked over and saw Blue was smiling. It wasn't his usual, I'm-awesome-and-you-know-it, smile. It was a much softer one that Red had begun to see more and more recently, he liked it. Yet he still wanted to know what made it, so he brushed his hand against the back if the stronger teen's, to get his attention.

Blue looked down at him with that soft smile on his face and Red just had to smile back, he looked so happy. Before he could ask though Blue reached over and took his hand. He almost gasped in surprise; he'd always taken Blue's hand before and thought himself lucky when the sky clad boy didn't pull away. In his surprise he forgot his question and just looked at their hands a moment, remembering what Blue had told him just before they came through the portal.

_.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o._

_"Don't worry," Blue had said with the same soft smile, holding his hand. "I'll be there to catch you on the other side. It wouldn't be the first time." And Red remembered the other time Blue had caught him, during their fight with Gufuu. He immediately felt better and smiled, though Blue didn't see it as he stepped into the light._

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

He felt himself warm up at the memory, just as he'd felt warm when he stepped into the light after Blue. It turned out he didn't need to be caught, but Blue had still been there by his side. Red smiled again and went back to watching the birds as they walked. They would be separate forever now, and he'd get to spend his time however he wanted, he knew he wanted to spend it with Blue.

Vio took a deep breath of the clear, clean air. It must have rained recently, or there was a stream nearby. Either way the scent of damp, rich earth was nearly tangible. He thought of refining his earth magic ability once they got back to the castle and felt the excitement grow. His guess had been right, he wasn't going to lose himself in Link or lose Shadow, and he could relax. He could even enjoy himself, a little. He knew he had to learn everything Fayhem could teach him about magic as fast as possible, before the others could let slip what the sparks really were.

The others… after this they were likely going to want to go their own separate ways, at least a little. What was he going to have to do to get them to learn the magic? Something that would make Green take his side, if he could get Green on his side the others would likely follow. But what would motivate Green… the town. It was still ruins in places from the attack at the beginning of all this. Green's sense of right and wrong wouldn't allow him to do nothing about it. Now how to tie that in to them all learning the magic, and how to word it…

Green couldn't be happier. He didn't have to lose any of his friends, his brothers, or anyone he cared about. They would all be around for many years to come, decades. He could get a job at the castle and be near to most, if not all of them. If what Vio had said all those weeks ago, about their future jobs, was correct then he could talk to any of them any time he wanted. He knew he'd come to rely on them pretty heavily, but he didn't care. None of them had ever let him down before, and besides they weren't done _yet_ were they. They still had to get Shadow back in a body. Which meant learning magic, powerful magic.

He smiled inwardly at the thought; learning magic would be fun but learning it with the others would be perfect. He'd always been amazed by almost any magic, watching Red practice with his fire rod was his favorite thing to do in the evening. Now he would get to learn how to do something amazing himself. He'd get to learn it with Blue and Red; of course, Red knew so much already Blue would probably be angry for a while at how much longer it took him to learn. And he'd get to see Vio learn how to control the earth itself…

Zelda was worried, were her dreams failing her? She had been so sure that the dream had been another sight from the future, could it have been wrong? She needed some time to herself, to sort through her thoughts and the developments. She needed to be alone, but how could she be? They had the whole ride back to the castle in that carriage, it would take at least two hours from here. She was immensely glad that no one seemed to be in a talking mood; at least she didn't have to concentrate on a conversation. Glancing around though she saw that all of them were smiling as they walked… well, maybe not Vio, she still couldn't read his face that well.

Even so, she was surrounded by grinning boys who may have been instrumental in finally driving her off the deep end! She hadn't realized how much she'd been counting on Link being beside her until now. She didn't just want him; she needed him for the sake of her sanity! So much had been ripped out from under her feet, like so many granite blocks that she'd used as the foundation of her life, suddenly crushed to quicksand beneath her. Now she felt like she was sinking, and there was nothing solid to hold on too.

She caught herself beginning to hyperventilate and forced herself to stop thinking. It was just like back at the Palace of the Winds, she couldn't break down until she was alone.

Green looked at Princess Zelda out of the corner of his eye, she seemed… scared. Or maybe flighty was a better word. She was definitely uncomfortable; she looked tense as a bow string. He looked around a moment before spotting something.

Vio, too, had noticed the princess's anxiety and was wondering what had caused it. He scanned the rocks and trees ahead but could see no threat. Hearing a sound he quickly turned to see Green running up a small hill ahead and to the right. Had he spotted an enemy? No he was leaning down toward something on the ground… a flower? Yes, and he was coming back with it. Why did Green run off to pick a wild flower?

A very surprised princess and a triad of confused heroes watched as Green returned with the small flower. He presented it to her as he spoke.

"Here, you should have this. I hope it reminds you of happier times, and that they can come again." Green didn't know what possessed him to say that, except he knew she didn't used to be like this, so nervous. He figured the last happy moment she'd had in a while was the day Link had given her the single wildflower, the day she had been kidnapped.

Vio, too, remembered the day as he saw the princess's face light up. He wasn't quite sure but he thought he saw tears in her eyes as she responded.

"Thank you… Green. It is always good to be reminded that happy days can come again." They had all stopped when Green ran off, now Zelda started forward so fast the others almost had to jog to keep up. And for half an hour more they walked in silence, though the princess did not look nearly so on edge.

Yet all things come to an end. Eventually they came upon more of a path, which began to lead out into almost a road as it twisted through the hilly passes. Zelda almost sighed in relief when they heard a whinny around a curve and rounded it to see the white carriage Fayhem had sent. It was almost immediately obvious that he had done more than just send it, as Red let out a cheer and the door opened to reveal the Impa's brown hair and pale face.

He smiled and immediately stepped down to bow lightly to the princess. His eyes were almost entirely gold when he spoke.

"You did not specify whether or not I was to come with the carriage, I supposed that if Vio had truly been wrong I might be able to accompany you back to the castle and meet Link in one act. However, as it is obvious that he was not wrong, I will be glad to sit with the driver on his highseat for the way back."

"Thank you," the princess spoke quickly. "But that will not be needed. I will be more than happy to sit outside. The heat inside that carriage is sure to quickly become frightful with five people inside, and you should begin discussing magic and how to learn it with the heroes as soon as possible. The ride back will take quite some time and that time should not be wasted. Besides, it has been far too long since I could just relax alone, as far as we are from the castle with only the single driver to see… now I might finally be able to."

Fayhem didn't know why his Princess wanted to sit outside, but she needed only say she would and he would not stop her. He suspected the reason was the heroes behind her and decided to play along. "I suppose, Princess. Your reasons are not worth ignoring but I am nervous, what if we were attacked? I would barely know it before you were taken or killed by the monster."

"I would have more time to alert you than that, and most monsters of any strength have gone with the evil masters that summoned them. I will be plenty safe, with the Four Heroes of Hyrule and my own Impa to protect me."

"As you wish," he 'caved' and helped her climb up to sit beside the driver, who looked over joyed and terrified at the same time. Vio and Green both thought there was something… strange, about the discussion, but neither said anything.

Fayhem moved to the door and held it open. "Please," was all he said.

After a glance from Green; Red moved forward and climbed up, Blue right behind him. As they went up Green followed closely, glancing at Vio as a signal to bring up the rear.

The intelligent blond followed the rest up, allowing himself a small smile as he did. He knew how this ride would turn out… it had been too long since he could say he _really_ knew what was going to happen. If he was truly honest with himself, he didn't know what would happen when they began to put the sword back, he didn't know if it would work or not. He only knew what he felt, that the Goddesses would not repay their heroes by destroying three of them. And the best chance of staying four would be to convince the others that they would stay, make them believe it and it would be reality. His guess was right, and now it wouldn't take much to steer things in the right direction, as long as he hadn't drastically misjudged Fayhem's character.

Fayhem climbed up last and shut the door behind himself, a moment later there was a slight jerk and they were moving over the slightly uneven ground. There was a moment of awkward silence, which Red broke.

"Hello," he said brightly, speaking across the carriage. "I don't think I've met you, what's your name?"

"My name is Fayhem and I am the Princess's Impa." The deep voiced response came with a slight bow of the brunette head.

Blue asked none too politely, "But what does that mean, 'the Princess's Impa'?"

The boy being questioned looked to Vio beside him, to see if the other wished to explain. Vio just gave the slightest nod as a go ahead so he turned back to the ocean clad boy.

"It means that I entered and won a contest to become the Princess's personal protector. I have proved my fighting skills against all the other mages and entered a life time contract with the royal family. As long as I live I will do so to protect the Princess from harm." He glanced at each of the others in turn and Vio noticed his eyes seemed to be a rainbow of color, Red noticed too.

"Your eyes are really pretty; I've never seen someone with so many colors."

"He must not get out much though, to have skin that pale." Blue added.

The Impa almost smiled, "It is true, I am not often in the sunlight, but my eyes are not always this many colors. Their color depends on what magic I am around or using, among other things. Were I only talking to you, Red, they would likely be completely red. Each of you has a very strong elemental aura that matches your tunics, my eyes react to it. I have always had the ability but your innate magic is particularly powerful. Each of you could wield powerful magic with a little instruction."

Green watched how relaxed everyone was around Fayhem, and relaxed himself. He had been worried Blue might try to pick a fight, but as Red obviously liked the newcomer he didn't think Blue would. He wondered if Fayhem had done that on purpose.

* * *

><p>It's funny, I don't think burn cream works on this kind of burn... if anything the pain has increased...<p>

How did you like the first chapter where Vio didn't talk! Well, Blue remembered him talking, but at this time he didn't actually _say_ anything. I wanted to jump right in with the magic learning here, but then it ended looking like a whole new chapter. So the next one shouldn't take as long. It definitely won't as long as you Review! Besides nourishment the Reviews supply the Ducktape!

... so painful, yet so effective...


	8. Chapter 8

Warnings: 1) I have a little… "Old Hylian" in this chapter. It's really just Latin with a few letters changed/added. All will be translated in context so don't worry about looking for the meaning. 2) The Goddess of the Night mentioned within is MINE. I have heard/read many different versions of her, under many different names. But this is not any of theirs, I tried to do many things to make her different and still believable, please tell me if she isn't.

Also there is the slightest hint at a song title from one of my favorite songs, which I also don't own, that's barely visible if you squint, through an electron microscope. Just a tidbit for those who like Daft Punk. ;)

**Flash Back!**

Green watched how relaxed everyone was around Fayhem, and relaxed himself. He had been worried Blue might try to pick a fight, but as Red obviously liked the newcomer he didn't think Blue would. He wondered if Fayhem had done that on purpose.

**_CH VIII_**

Then, for the first time since they had got in the carriage, Vio spoke. "Perhaps a bit of background on magic in general would help get us into the right mindset."

Fayhem nodded and looked down a moment. Immediately, everyone could tell that it was story time, Red scooted forward a little in his seat, Green shifted so he could face Fayhem better, and Vio leaned back to get comfortable as he closed his eyes.

The brunette opened his own rainbow orbs and looked at each of them in turn before beginning.

"Everyone knows the names of the three Goddesses; Din, Nayru, and Farore. Yet few are they, who know the name of the fourth, Vera. Din is known as the Goddess of fire and the red, molten earth. Nayru is worshiped as Goddess of the waters and the blue sky. Farore is the recognized Goddess of all animals and green things. Vera was known as the Goddess of the stars and black night.

"It's said the Goddesses loved one another like sisters, equally, until a great evil arose in the land. It killed without mercy. The three Light Goddesses confronted the dark one about it and she confessed to its creation, calling out that she knew this would only make the peoples' lives better. Even as it created more like itself and attacked the people, the animals, the earth, and the sky… she did nothing to stop it. She rebelled against her sisters by doing nothing.

"The three saw that normal people could do nothing against this great darkness, so they created a second people. These second people were faster, more agile, had longer ears, and could sense any creature with truly evil intent. The Goddesses called them Hylians, the ancient word for Heroes.

"Other races like Zoras and Minish could sense the magic within these new creatures, and knew they were Goddess sent. So they bestowed the new ones with gifts, to help them defeat the darkness that encroached upon everything.

"Eventually the Hylians succeeded, though not without great loss. Then the three Goddesses observed something amazing. The Humans, who had been slowly growing more and more displeased with their lives, found things to be thankful for again. The Goddesses found the humans needed a little pain and hardship in their lives, to respect and be glad for easier times. Because of this they did not punish their sister as intended; instead they banished her to another realm. This was called the Dark Realm.

"The three Goddesses thought, when they had made the Hylians that theirs' was the only power put in to making the new ones. Yet at the last moment Vera added a bit of her own magic. From her the first Hylians gained the ability to use great magic, but also a touch of darkness took hold in their hearts. It was only a touch of darkness amidst blinding light, but a touch is all that is needed to grow.

"One of the things that had been seen to make the darkness in a person grow, is knowledge. There are many ideas as to why, but it is known to work the other way too. Those with the darkest of hearts have grown lighter through gaining knowledge."

Fayhem relaxed into his seat a moment, the story obviously over. Everyone was looking at Vio now; his eyes were still closed though. The brunette continued speaking.

"I tell you this because it is relevant to your learning of magic. Any magic user can see an aura, the magic in a thing or being. That is the light I speak of. Through the learning you will grow a little less pure, just as through any learning you would grow darker. In your case I believe this is a good thing. Being the Goddesses chosen heroes as you are your auras' are incredibly bright, like a babe who knows nothing. Many mages would not respect ones like you, believing you had been sheltered; few would recognize what that brightness meant.

"Yet know that all darkness is not evil, just as all light is not good. And the brightness, or darkness, rarely pertains to the level of a mage's power. Only their purity of heart."

He paused a moment, obviously waiting for a question and he was not disappointed.

Green asked, "But then why does Vio have Earth magic, if that's Din's?"

Fayhem nodded, recognizing the question. "It is said the fiery Goddess found the earth too calm to her liking. She could not dance with it, as she did fire, because Farore's birds and beasts needed it stable and calm. So she took the magic and placed it somewhere hidden and safe, in a dark corner of the Goddesses' home. But she did not think of Vera, who manipulated the darkness and used a mirror to send the magic through to the Dark Realm. Then Vera changed the magic, to align to her, yet she changed herself in the process.

"The power was still so bright with light magic that it lightened her. Since then she has not had a pitch black aura, but a deep purple one. And all creatures of darkness have the slightest touch of light within their being. Because of this they are at once drawn to, and repulsed by, light… causing them to attack any light that should come near." No one was watching Vio any more, if they had been they would have seen the light smile that touched his lips as the pale brunette added, "Yet this tale is known by few, part of Vera's punishment was that she and her acts be forgotten by all Humans. As far as I know, only the Royal Family remembers it now."

Instead, after a moment of silence, Blue spoke… or complained rather. "It's too hot in here, the princess was right." He reached out and tried to open the window, only to be blinded by a ray of sunlight. With a sharp groan he pulled back, covering his eyes, Red giggled.

"It is warm," Fayhem agreed. "But I can easily use a bit if magic and cool us off; I'm rather good at water magic, and making ice."

He straightened in his seat to begin his focus, but Red interrupted. "I can make ice too, with this."

And he pulled out the Fire Rod.

Fayhem looked at in amazement for several moments. He seemed almost speechless, especially as Red extended it toward him. Blue and Green both tensed, it seemed wrong to so easily hand over the weapon.

Yet Fayhem reached for it so slowly, and took it as though he was scared the Goddesses might strike him down for touching it, so they relaxed. Then he murmured something too low and Red asked, "What was that?"

"It's _Rodai contariis reume_, the Rod of Opposites. This is one of the most powerful magical artifacts in the history of all Hyrule, and one of the most unstable. You can control this?"

"Ya," and then Red felt more was needed so he added, "I practice almost every evening by making fireworks."

"But you only use the fire element, right?"

"No, I use both," and at his words Fayhem almost fell out of his seat. "What's wrong?" Red cried.

The brunette straightened himself and looked up, though he sounded almost breathless as he spoke. "It is just surprising, that someone so totally aligned to Fire, could do anything with its polar opposite, water. Though, it could have something to do with the rod…" his voice fell off as he stared intently at the metal in his hands. Just before Red could ask him what he meant, Fayhem spoke again. "You wouldn't mind terribly, if I were to use this a moment, would you?"

Red's smile was answer enough, "Sure, go ahead."

Fayhem nodded and turned to Blue, who was once again tense. "I'll just cool the temperature a few degrees." The ocean clad teen nodded and visibly tried to relax as everyone watched.

Fayhem sat back in his seat and relaxed, letting out a long breath. He held the rod horizontally just above his knees with his thumbs nearly touching. Slowly he began moving the rod, so each end traced a small circle in the air but the center was almost completely still. His lips moved silently as they all, Vio included, watched intently.

Slowly, the blue ball on one end of the rod began to glow. A moment later the lightest, cool breath of air barely moved throughout the small space. It began to increase in force, until it was almost a true breeze, before dying off. The air in the carriage was much cooler, almost cold, but everyone thought it was a little anticlimactic. Fayhem smiled lightly at their faces before speaking.

"Are you disappointed something earthshattering didn't happen? That there were no sparks of light or bells and whistles? Magic isn't always amazing, or obvious, or stunning… The hardest magics I know are those which are nearly undetectable."

There was a moment of thought in the small space, before Green spoke.

"I suppose none of us have ever thought of it that way. For so long now, we've been practicing to get better at our skills. And better always meant harder hits, better weapons, faster moves, stronger attacks…"

"It's understandable," Fayhem answered easily, handing the Fire Rod back to Red, who put it away. "Most beginners expect to learn flashy things they can use to show off and make friends. It's control that's hardest to learn, yet also the most important."

Without warning, Vio began to speak. "Of course, there's another reason for learning to control and make use of our magic."

All eyes were turned to him, as his own turned to Green, he continued. "I'm sure you remember what Castletown looked like, the last time we fought through to the castle itself. As I remember, the town wasn't in the best shape."

Green nodded and turned to the brunette. "Is there any way we could learn to use our magic that could help rebuild the town?"

Fayhem looked intently at him as he thought, finally he answered, "Yes. Depending on how fast you learn to control your ability, perhaps within a few weeks you could be assisting the repairs."

Blue nearly leapt at that. "A few weeks!" he shouted. "And just what would we be doing in the meantime?"

The brunette's answer was calm, yet held surprising venom just beneath the surface. "It takes time to learn control, and that was a generous estimate. You wouldn't want to kill someone on accident would you, just because you hadn't taken a little more time before you went off to_ help_ them?"

His words were blunt, but sometimes you had to be blunt with Blue. Said blond looked angry a moment longer before setting back with a huff. He crossed his arms and looked out the window, but he did seem to have seen the other's point.

Green spoke again, turning from the almost pouting teen to the mage again. "I wonder though, how did you do that, we'll have to know if we are to use magic of our own."

"Of course, it's really quite simple actually," came his easy answer. "As long as you can sense magic you can use it. You only have to focus on what you want done, gather your magic, and speak a word to use it. When you get better at using magic the word won't be needed… but for now it's the best way to release the power, and to focus it. The word will focus your mind; lost focus is what has killed many a mage on accident."

Red asked, "But how do we 'gather our magic'?"

Fayhem looked at the smallest blond a moment, "You have to feel it within you," was the slow answer. "You have to be able to feel the heat of Fire within your heart, with its comforting light and destructive heat all at once."

Then the brunette turned to Green, "You have to feel the Wind around and within you, pushing you and others, its invisible yet constant guidance."

To Vio he spoke, "You have to sense the solid Earth beneath your feet, its cool and calm presence constantly supporting you."

Lastly to Blue he finished. "And you must find the smooth Water flowing through your veins, powerful as the raging river, yet at times, gentle as a soft rain."

Silence fell in the carriage as the last echo of Fayhem's voice died away. Each blond closed his eyes to think about what he had been told and, of course, try it. Fayhem relaxed, expecting this, and closed his own eyes in the atmosphere of magical attempt and failure. He knew, in the bumpy ride of the carriage; with the sounds of the wheels against the grassy ground, and birdsong, and the horses' hooves… he wasn't worried about any of them gathering enough magic to _do_ anything. It was incredibly hard for first timers to gather their power in a silent, still, and peaceful environment, nothing too great would happen here.

Yet, even as he thought it he realized something was off… He had always been very sensitive to magic, anyone who had seen his eyes could attest to that. Now he felt an energy, much more powerful than it should have been, growing beside him. He opened his eyes to look over at, Vio.

'Of course,' he thought, 'the hero of Earth would have tried to do magic before. It is a form of knowledge to be learned.' He took advantage the moment when the other's eyes were closed to observe the calm look on the face, with gently closed eyes over sharp cheekbones and under delicate brows. He saw the smooth jaw line, which drew the eye down from long, pointed ears to slightly full lips, lips that were softly pursed at the moment in concentration.

There was only a moment, between when he felt the growing Earth magic plateau and when the icy blue eyes opened to look at him. Vio's head cocked ever so slightly to the side in silent question and in answer Fayhem smiled softly and turned away.

Vio blinked in surprise as the brunette turned away, he had never seen the other's eyes so completely and totally **Purple**, it was striking against his pale skin. Yet even as the calmest blond watched, flecks of red appeared in the irises, and quickly began to grow.

Just as Vio had opened those ice blue orbs, Fayhem had felt something from another direction. Little Red seemed to get the hang of accessing his element rather quickly, without the Fire Rod to draw on. In fact the brunette began to worry at the pace at which the power had grown, and was still growing. Vio may have known when and how to hold his magic at a level, but already, Red obviously didn't.

Fayhem saw danger heading their way, fast, and made a split second decision. Half standing, he reached up and hit the celling of the carriage hard, twice. Knowing the signal to stop the driver reigned in the horses.

"Follow me quickly," Fayhem said to Vio as he turned and leapt from the still-slowing carriage. Without thought the blond did as he was told and landed easily on the ground beside the mage. "Blue, Green!" said mage called up. A moment later Blue's head appeared. "Get Red, don't wake him, hand him down to me. Quickly!"

Everyone was startled by the tone of the usually emotionless teen; they didn't waste a moment in doing as they were told. Green tried to help but after the glare Blue sent him he just tried to stay out of the way.

Blue cringed as he gently handed Red down to Fayhem and Vio below. "He looks like he's in pain… Why?" came the quiet question from the strongest blond as he climbed down after Red.

Fayhem answered just as softly, "He's too good at gathering his magic, he cannot control what he's gathered and does not know how to release it. Keep him on his feet and get the Fire Rod into his hands." The last Fayhem directed to Vio, who quickly obeyed. Glancing back he saw all the guys on the ground and looked up to the driver. "Get out of here, fast." Fayhem ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. "Take the Princess where it's safe. GO!"

With a snap of the reins the horses were moving away at a fast trot. Satisfied he turned back to Red. The small boy clung to the Rod, pointing it out above a corpse of trees in the distance. His eyes were tightly closed and his breathing was fast through clenched teeth. The mage could feel the Fire magic flowing from the boy into the Rod, but it wasn't fast enough. It was still building within him faster than the Rod could take it.

"Goddesses, help me," the brunette muttered the short prayer before he leaned down and quickly began to whisper into Red's long ear, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Imagine a bright tongue of flame, flowing from the end of the Fire Rod, you know how. Fill your mind with the picture of fire, and let it out. Now. Let the fire go out through the Rod. Let it go…" and his words were cut off by a bright flash.

White hot flames leapt from the Rod, filling the sky with light and heat. The boys threw up arms to protect their faces as they moved back, Green stumbled back so fast he tripped; only Fayhem stood his ground. Through his contact on the boy's shoulder he could feel the built up magic pouring out of the boy, though there was a long moment before it was down to a manageable level.

As soon as Red didn't have to focus on holding himself together, the magic was used and gone, he felt exhausted. The flames died and the crimson clad boy nearly fell forward but Fayhem caught him quickly. Suddenly Blue was there, an arm around the small teen's waist as the mage stepped back and Blue lowered the drained boy gently to the grass.

* * *

><p>Whoot! Et Ez DONE!(not the story, just chappie)<p>

I Lurv youz all, Show Your Lurv TOO! Review!

Little Red NEEDS the Heart Pieces!


	9. Chapter 9

12 heart pieces did the trick!

* * *

><p>As soon as Red didn't have to focus on holding himself together, the magic was used and gone, he felt exhausted. The flames died and the crimson clad boy nearly fell forward but Fayhem caught him quickly. Suddenly Blue was there, an arm around the small teen's waist as the mage stepped back and Blue lowered the drained boy gently to the grass.<p>

_**CH IX**_

A long moment passed in which all the heroes gathered around Red. Ever so softly Blue brushed a lock of hair out of the boy's face, a face that showed none of the pain that had been on it before. In fact, between the peace there now and his gentle breathing, he looked to be asleep. Blue slowly laid the boy's head down in the dry grass and rose to his feet.

He tore his deep blue eyes from the sleeping form up to Fayhem's face, the next thing anyone knew Blue was standing only a foot from the brunette.

"How could you have done that?" came a voice of deadly calm from between the clenched teeth of the enraged blond.

"What do you mean?" Asked Fayhem; Green found himself thinking he liked the loud Blue more than this quiet one.

Blue's fists were trembling at his sides with his anger. "He was in pain, the magic was hurting him, how could you have asked him to do something that would hurt him?"

Fayhem took a step back as he slowly answered, "I honestly did not think any of you would be able to gather _any_ of your power, beginners can never gather anything but the very slightest bit of magic before they get distracted and lose it." Yet Fayhem's eyes belied his calm voice, wide with worry as Blue began to match him step for step. Vio noticed those eyes were also a striking green.

"But you were wrong," the angry blonde's voice was definitely rising now. "You were wrong and he could have BEEN HURT!"

Just as Blue pulled back a fist to knock the brunette into next week he heard a voice behind him that froze him in his tracks.

"Blue?" came the softest sound and he spun to see Red, setting up on his elbows, somehow still clutching the Fire Rod in one small hand. Vio and Green hadn't noticed the boy wake up, they both reached out to help him sit. But Blue's thoughts were immediately pulled from the task at hand.

"Are you alright?" Blue asked as he nearly jumped down to Red's side.

"Ya, just a little tired's all." With that soft reassurance Blue relaxed beside the smallest blond, having decided staying close to Red was more important. He could deal with the mage later, now he spared the brunette only a death glare before turning his attention back to the boy in his arms.

Vio watched them a moment as Red's eyes started to slip closed again. Now that the crises was over he could look around… they were almost in the same place as this morning, about half an hour from the castle, in Hyrule Field. The greatest difference was that now it was much later in the day, about five o'clock. Standing, the intelligent blond moved to the brunette.

"Are you sure he is only tired?" Vio asked quietly.

"Positive," Fayhem answered with equal volume. "His body is used to the flow of magic, just not used to the energy coming from within itself. All he needs is a good rest and a full stomach."

Another moment passed before Green stood and joined them. Fayhem told him what he'd told Vio and Green nodded.

"That's a relief." Green said with a sigh. "With luck, Blue won't hold a grudge after Red's better. I guess the best move now is to get back to the carriage and get to the castle, hopefully the princess will let us take a break."

"She will," the brunette spoke with total assurance, and then he turned and began to walk away. Just before Green decided to follow him he stopped and closed his eyes. Both heroes felt the swell of magic the mage gathered.

"What do you think he's doing?" asked Green.

"Likely, calling Zelda to tell her it's safe to come back." Answered Vio. After a moment Green nodded and turned back to the two setting in the grass. Vio also turned and saw Red, asleep, his long hair splayed across Blue's crossed legs as he used the other as a pillow, small hands clutching the Fire Rod to his chest. 'That's probably not a very soft pillow,' Vio thought to himself as he heard the grass move behind him. Then he spoke again, "You were prepared to defend yourself if Blue had swung, weren't you."

It didn't sound like a question, but Fayhem answered anyway. "Yes, could you feel the magic?"

"No, but your eyes were entirely green, and I know Green himself wasn't thinking of using his magic. So you had to be reacting to your own energy."

"I'm glad you've noticed that, most mages have something that gives them away when they have gathered their energy. Mine is one of the most… apparent."

Vio nodded at the words and the three teens looked past the other boys to the carriage in the distance. It quickly neared, with the princess standing before it had quite stopped in front of them. She held on to the seat for balance as she called down to them in a voice that began as deadly soft but quickly rose to a less than regal shriek.

"What was that about? We're nearly to the castle and suddenly the driver hears something and stops, just before you go flying out of the carriage with the heroes close behind. Then you have to lift Red out and before I can speak you send me and the carriage away! What happened? Explain yourself!"

Fayhem had bowed deeply before she'd stopped speaking and didn't rise as he answered. "Your Highness, I must apologize profusely for my actions. As you had asked me to, I was teaching the heroes about magic. However, I entirely miscalculated the extent of their abilities. I had thought that, being new to magic, they would not have the presence of mind to gather any amount of their Power. I had forgotten that they were the chosen of the Goddesses, and would be their fore much more adept at learning new concepts. I was only thinking of your safety when I sent you out of harm's way and I take full responsibility for the event."

As he finished he straightened and the Princess's face softened. Regal again, she sat back down beside the driver and folded her hands in her lap. "I see." She spoke calmly, too calmly. "I think the heroes have had a very long day, perhaps they would enjoy a rest when they get back to the castle." She turned to Green, who immediately nodded.

"It would be appreciated, Zelda."

She smiled at him, "I think, Fayhem, it would be best if you showed them to the royal apartments when we reach the castle. Afterwards, I would like to see you in my rooms." Green winced in sympathy for the mage at her tone, but said mage only bowed low again.

She turned away from them then, clearly ending the conversation. Green and Vio shared a glance before following Fayhem to the door of the carriage. Red wasn't really awake yet, but he could stand and almost walk. Blue helped him brush the grass off his back as he nearly lifted the crimson clad hero into the carriage. Green and Vio followed them and Fayhem went up last, pulling the door shut. A moment later the carriage began to move and they all let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding.

Green was the first to speak. "She never used to be like that. She was never… scary."

Vio sighed, lightly pinching the bridge of his nose as he answered. "Yes, but you must remember, she never had memories of being captured by creatures of darkness or being held prisoner by Vaati either. That is the sort of thing that leaves its mark on a person. And we've already mentioned how little reason she has to trust us, not really knowing is as individuals."

Green nodded. Silence reigned in the small space again, until a soft sound broke it. Everyone looked over to Red, who was asleep against Blue. The smallest was muttering softly in his sleep, Blue was blushing deeply and looking the opposite direction. It didn't help that Red was using Blue's arm as a teddy bear, holding it against his chest with his head nestled in the sky clad shoulder, with the Fire Rod resting between Red's legs. The other two heroes and the mage all held back smiles as they looked away.

.o0OOO0o.

The rest of the ride passed in silence. Once they reached the town Green opened the curtain over the window to look out, beside him Vio could feel their leader wince. They hadn't had much of a chance to see it without monsters in the streets, and Vio didn't want to yet. He gazed without seeing, as he had earlier that day, knowing the moment he really looked he would immediately begin thinking about how to fix any problem he spotted… and he had other things to occupy his mind right now. He knew he'd see it soon enough anyway, after this ride Green would insist they help the town rebuild with or without magic. It wouldn't be long, a week tops, and Vio had plenty else to think about in that time.

Soon enough they arrived at the castle. The driver held the door as they climbed out. The contemplative blond noticed the princess ahead of them, already entering the great doors at the top of the stairs. The five teens followed her a minute later, though Blue had to give Red a piggyback ride because he was still too tired. The sky clad teen's blush matched Red's tunic almost perfectly, Blue wondered if his face could permanently stain the color.

Vio stared blankly at Fayhem's back as the brunette lead them through the courtyard and into the castle. The story Fayhem had told about the Goddesses 'creating the first Hylians from the elements' had encouraged him and his mind was whirling with ideas for Shadow. He was so lost in thought he didn't notice when Fayhem stopped, Green had to put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

When Fayhem spoke his voice sounded even more emotionless than it normally did.

"This hall runs north and south, this southern half here is where the royal apartments, and your rooms, are. The ones on the right are against the eastern wall. They have windows that overlook the royal gardens. The rooms on the left do not have windows; however they do have more torches and a larger fireplace. In all other respects the rooms are nearly identical. The first two rooms belong to the Princess and her Father, all which are past those you may choose from for your selves. Someone will come to get you before the event this evening. It doesn't start until eight though, so you have just over two hours."

He began to move to the room he'd indicated as the Princess's but Green asked, "What 'event'?"

Fayhem answered without turning, "The formal introduction of the Heroes of Hyrule, to the People, by his Majesty the King of Hyrule." And with that Fayhem took the last step to the tall wooden door, opened it, and disappeared inside.

There was a moment of awkward silence in the long hall until Red spoke slowly.

"I want a room with a window." He didn't open his eyes, just clung to Blue.

"Okay," Green answered. Then the leader led them past the first two doors into the next room on the right.

None of the blonds were really prepared for what was behind it. Ahead was a wall of windows with deep-pink-but-not-red curtains tied back with darker, barely red, sashes. The entire wall to the right was lined with bookshelves that were only half full, apparently waiting for the next resident to fill them with her favorite volumes, or trinkets. For the room was obviously meant for a girl.

The dark red, king size, four post bed was against the wall to the left and had a dresser to one side and a vanity with a huge mirror behind it on the other. Besides a table and four large chairs in the intervening space between the walls, the room was big enough to spar in. Green was sure he could fight Blue or Vio within the room and have no trouble with the walls or bed. The tapestries and pictures along the walls were of beautiful maps and pictures of places, several had a few of the native people and animals near the edges. Most all the scenes were at sunrise or sunset, with fiery red and orange skies.

Green turned in time to see Blue jump a little, at once hoisting Red up higher in his arms and getting the boy's attention. In turn said boy made a small, rather adorable, sound in complaint and opened his eyes.

"Do you like this room?" Blue asked, taking a few steps in so Red could see it. The crimson clad blond looked around tiredly and nodded.

"Put me on the bed? I'm really tired…" his words were cut off by a yawn as Blue complied. Green and Vio quietly left the room; they both knew how this would end.

As gently as he could, Blue walked across the huge room and stood next to the bed a moment, wondering how this would work. He finally decided to crawl to the center, detach Red, and then crawl back off. The first part of the plan went swimmingly, but the 'detach Red' step was easier thought than done. For being so tired, Red sure had a strong grip. Just when Blue finally got Red's arms over his head the boy spoke through closed eyes.

"Please, don't leave me Blue. We haven't been alone in," he paused to yawn again and Blue had to stifle his own yawn as Red continued. "In ages, we've always been four, almost. Please don't leave me alone."

Well, he couldn't ignore a request like that. But the others… Looking around Blue finally realized he was alone with Red. So he moved back onto his elbows beside the smallest hero and whispered, "I wasn't leaving Red, promise. I was just tryin' to get more comfortable."

The smallest smiled. The words, "Thank you," barely passed his lips as he moved to snuggle against the warmth that was Blue. And as Blue finally lay down he wondered what it was about Red that made him even think of doing this… and he thought he'd kill the others if they even mentioned the possibility of him going soft. He wasn't going soft damn it! But those, and all other, thoughts were erased when Red moved a little closer. Soft, golden hair brushed his chin as Red moved his cheek to Blue's shoulder and the stronger teen froze, before relaxing completely beside the trusting little hero. As his eyes closed and an arm came up to wrap around Red he wondered how long he would be allowed to stay like this. How long the peace would last.

.o0OOO0o.

Vio had easily followed Green out the door when he'd seen the leader wave. Yet once the two were outside he had to speak.

"You do know where that will lead, yes?"

Green nodded, "They'll be together, if Blue'll let himself. And I hope Blue can find peace with Red. Let's choose our own rooms, since if Red has his way that will be Blue's room."

Vio nodded and followed Green down the hall to the next windowed room. This one was obviously for a male. Instead of an entire wall of bookcases there were a few full suits of armor with bookcases between. The armor looked to be as old as the stones of the castle itself. The maps were mostly the same, but most of the tapestries showed knights, monsters being slain, and other heroic deeds. Instead of red and pink, this room was themed brown and green. The curtains around the posts of the large bed were a dark green, as was the carpet. Brown curtains hung around the windows. The tapestries had scenes of forests and open plains, but none showed a sunset. And there were two simple dressers on either side of the bed, as well as a door to one side that no one had noticed before.

Green walked into the room, looking at everything. When he finally made it to the bed he turned. Vio was still in the doorway.

Green began to move back to the other blond as he said, "I think I'll take this room. The colors are a lot better. Let's find a room you like now."

Vio simply nodded as he stepped back through the doorway, Green followed, closing the door as he went. After a short pause the thoughtful hero walked diagonally back the way they had come down the hall, stopping at the room across from Red and Blue's. He opened the door and stepped in, Green just behind him, and again both boys were surprised by the changes.

Only three of the many torches in the room were lit so it took several moments for the teens' eyes to adjust to the darkness. This room was a little lighter than Red's, instead of red and pink this one was green and blue pastel; it was also a little smaller. Another room that seemed set more for a male than a female, there was no large vanity beside the bed, though there was a full length mirror beside the dresser. Most of the wall space was taken by weapons or huge tapestries of beasts and knights. A few more suits of armor adorned the corners, but on the wall across from the door there was a huge fireplace instead of a wall of windows. Several large chairs sat facing the empty cavern but the room was still hugely empty.

Vio stood in the doorway a moment longer before stepping back, closing the door softly.

"Didn't like that one?" Green teased as the other teen stepped past him to the next room down the hall.

"Not particularly, Red chose a red room and you chose a green one. Aren't I allowed to choose a purple one?" The quiet teen glanced back to see Green's light smile and nod of agreement. With that he moved to the door and looked in the next room, Green quickly moving to his side to see as well.

This room couldn't have been more different in its color, though the decorations were largely the same. There were a few weapons along the walls but no suits of armor, just bookcases, though most of the tapestries did show images of beasts and violence. But the big difference for this room was the slightly depressing tone of its color scheme. Deep purple rugs with black and ruby red designs, the bed covered in black sheets with purple curtains held back with ribbons of satin that looked like they'd been freshly dipped in blood. The wooden furniture was all of a dark wood that contributed to the overall darkness as well.

Vio took three steps into the room and took a deep breath. He let it out in a contented sigh as he turned back to Green with a slightly sad smile in his face and a spark in his eyes that reminded the leader of Shadow's sparks.

"I don't even have to ask, do I?" sighed Green as he saw the dusk clad teen standing in the room. Even Green had to admit, it just looked right. Like when Vio'd first picked up his bow, or when Green himself had found his boomerang. It was just made for them, or maybe they were made for it.

"I like this one," Vio spoke simply as he turned back to the room. Looking more closely he noticed something he hadn't before. Standing up against one of the posts of the bed was a long metal rod with a wooden handle at the base and what looked like an upside down teacup on the top. Nearing it, Vio noticed a thin, straight, wooden stick affixed beside the cup. The end of the stick was burned and there were traces of soot on the inside of the cup.

"What do you think that is?" Green asked from behind Vio, who barely managed to keep from reacting to the sudden sound of his voice. For the Love of Nayru, he'd been thinking! Green _knew_ not to do that! Then again, that's probably why he had done it to begin with…

After another moment's inspection Vio lifted the rod, finding it surprisingly light, and carried it over to the door. Just inside the door was a burning torch and, by grasping the wooden handle, Vio could easily reach it with the rod. To answer Green's question he lit the small stick and walked a short way down the wall, using the stick to light the next torch along it. The torch immediately caught and the teen slashed at the air with the rod, putting out the stick so as not to waste the rest.

"It lights the torches?" Green asked and Vio nodded. "Then why didn't you just say that?"

They both knew why, but Vio gave another answer. "Because I wanted this torch lit anyway. This room is rather dark."

Green moved to leave the room as he scoffed, adding, "I hadn't noticed. Well, sleep well; it's still at least an hour and a half before we have to get to our party." With that he left, closing the door behind himself.

* * *

><p>Lol, it has 3,690 words...<p>

BUT I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOO SOOOOOO SORRY ! ! ! ! ! !1 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !1 ! ! !11 ! ! !1 ! !1 ! ! !1 ! ! !1 1

*ducks thrown pottery* I REALLY didn't mean it to take Nearly this long! *ducks more sharp/painful things* I found a Life and it's amazing how much work it takes to keep up one of those things. *dives behind the computer desk to avoid knives* It's not My Life! I still don't have one. My friend was just letting me borrow hers because she's part of the school sports team now and doesn't have hardly any free time.

The proceeding updates should be sooner that 2 months from now, I kinda forgot how much I enjoyed writing this. A special thanks to Watermelon Juice, .Link.x, LeaStar, FourSwordsAddict, KichiMiangra, msfcatlover, GreenEyedPurpleRaven, SaphireWhiteWolf, and elmorox35 for all being Beautiful Writers and reviewing this year! You are the reason I didn't totally forget about this and for that I definitely owe you all one. Also, I'VE GOT OVER ONE THOUSAND VIEWS! *does happy dance before quickly ducking back down behind the desk*. **_...When will they run out of sharp things?..._**


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the delay, but it Has been less than a Month!(i think)

New Characters! Alara(Pronounced ah-LAR-ah), Karane(who should be a little familiar for those who've played Skyward Sword), and Silvia. They will return if anyone wants them to, but they don't have to. The story works either way.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>CH X<strong>

Vio watched as the door clicked shut before turning back to the room. It was quite a bit darker without the light from the hall, but his eyes had adjusted and he decided against lighting any more torches. /Any of the others would likely be half blind/ he thought with a small smile. Ever since his stay with Shadow his night vision had greatly improved, just one of the little magical gifts the darker teen had given him. It was thanks to Shadow he could use his own magic at all actually. The shadow had told him about the elemental magic in each of the boys and had helped Vio gain control of his own.

Vio pulled himself from the happy memories as he moved toward the bed. He knew he should likely get as much rest as he could, it would be a long night if he had to stay for the entire evening at a ball thrown by the king. And he was just as exhausted from attempting to put the sword back as the others.

He'd just placed his small backpack on the bed, however, when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" he called in confusion.

The door opened and a young woman, perhaps 19 or 20, peeked her head in. Seeing him standing she entered the room and began. "I am to be your maid; I'll clean your clothes, and room, and draw your bath for as long as you stay in the castle. The Princess has asked me to introduce myself; my name is Alara." She was brunette with lightly tanned skin and soft green eyes, wearing the usual maids' uniform; a long, light blue, sleeveless dress with a puffy white long sleeve shirt underneath. She was carrying a lit candle and stood straight, her voice was soft yet sure, and she pronounced all her words perfectly without any of the usual drawl that most people spoke with.

After a moment Vio said, "It's nice to meet you Alara. My name is Vio, and I think a bath would be appreciated."

She nodded and moved quickly across the room and passed him, through the door beside the bed he'd noticed earlier. Inside, she used her small candle to begin lighting the candles that sat high on the wall. The blond moved from the bed and stepped over to the door, looking in the room.

It was a huge bathroom. A basin connected to the wall before him, waist height with a pump coming out of the side of it. To the other side a short set of shelves held numerous small bottles and bars of soap with towels stacked across half the top. A toilet was against the same wall as the door and in the far corner was a bathtub. It was a huge, copper tub that looked long enough for two grown men to use at the same time, without touching one another. Crossing the large room he saw it actually had a deep end and a shallow end, as well as two pumps connected to the corner of the deep end, a covered drain under them.

The maid stepped past him easily in the large space to light another candle and he decided to ask about the strange copper pumps. He'd seen them outside buildings many places, they drew up water and took up less space than a well. But why there would be two of them to a tub, or inside a building for that matter, Vio didn't know.

"Alara, if you would, what are those?" He gestured to the pumps as she looked down.

"Oh, those were part of a remodel of the castle that happened about 20 years ago. One of the pumps goes down all the way to a large pipe that connects the castle to the river. The other goes to an absolutely huge water tank under these rooms, over the kitchens. The tank's side is also a wall of the huge fireplace in the kitchens, so the water in the tank is always nearly boiling. I don't know how the tank doesn't run out of water, but it never does.

"All the royal baths have a hot water pump and a cold water pump, though the basin has only a hot water one." As she finished speaking she placed her candle on the uncovered half of the short shelves and turned to the pumps. Pulling the handle up, she pushed it back down quickly, twice, before pulling it back up and leaving it as she moved to do the same to the other pump. Hot water had already begun pouring out and within moments the room was gathering steam.

It was loud with both pumps shooting water into the copper tub. As the maid left the room with her candle Vio followed. Once they were in the cooler bedroom the maid turned back to him, placing her candle on a small table beside the bed.

"If you will give me all your dirty clothes I will take them to be cleaned. If you wish I will wait here until you have undressed for your bath so I may wash what you are wearing now as well. The clothes will be cleaned and dry in an hour."

Vio thought a moment before moving to his pack. He answered, "I would appreciate it if you would wash all of my things."

"Alright," she said as he reached it.

Opening it he reached down, thinking of his other clothes. His fingers brushed cloth and he pulled them out, setting them on the bed. The maid took them and folded them in her arms as Vio placed something inside and resealed his pack. Then the blond teen moved back into the large bathroom and Alara sat on the edge of the bed to wait.

As she waited she looked around the dark room, remembering how about 2 hours ago she had been frantically dusting it. The Head Maid had called all the girls to clean the first ten Royal apartments and have them ready for guests in an hour. Alara still wasn't quite sure how, but they'd managed to do it. Though…she suddenly realized she'd forgotten to light the fireplace. She honestly hadn't thought anyone would want this room. It always seemed dark and cold, no matter how many torches were lit, and it had always felt uncomfortable and even depressing to her.

It was a definite contrast to the teen that'd chosen it. Vio seemed soft-spoken with his deep voice, but not nearly as cold as the room he'd chosen.

The door to the bathroom opened and another pair of white leggings, violet tunic, hat, and white cotton shirt came flying out to land a few feet from Alara in a pile. The words, "Thank you," followed them just before the door shut again, muffling the sound of the still running water. She would have called back, but she knew he wouldn't hear her over the water and through the door. She simply grabbed the clothes and her candle, using the latter to light the fireplace, before she walked out of the room.

.o0OOO0o. .o0OOO0o. .o0OOO0o. .o0OOO0o.

Half an hour later the door to the bathroom opened again. Vio stepped out with a yawn, one soft towel around his slim waist and another over his narrow shoulders. He wanted to sleep, but he knew if he lay down now his hair would get the pillows wet and then he'd never get to sleep.

Instead he moved to the pack again, this time taking out Shadow's Sparks. He'd put them in before, when he was taking out his clothes. He brought the sparks with him over to the fireplace, which was crackling merrily. He hadn't remembered it being lit before, Alara must have lit it before she left. There were four large, cushioned, lounge chairs facing it, and the two in the center had a small end table between them. Vio sat in one of the two chairs and placed the jar of Sparks on the small table beside him. The blond leaned back into the soft chair, just looking as the sparks as they swirled slowly around their shard of glass.

The bath had relaxed him and now the sparks movement was mesmerizing. He couldn't have pulled his ice blue eyes away if he wanted to. With each blink it took a moment to remember how to open his eyes again. The towel threatened to slip off a shoulder and he did nothing to fight it.

Within minutes he was asleep, still damp blond locks drooped over his shoulder as his head dipped toward the jar on the small table, the towel that had been over his shoulders lying half off, held up between his back and the chair.

.o0OOO0o. .o0OOO0o. .o0OOO0o. .o0OOO0o.

"… Vio. Vio? Oh where is the boy… V-Vio! There you are!" The teen in question heard the words through a fog of sleep. Wearily opening his eyes, the first thing he saw were Shadow's sparks. Then the fire in the fireplace. Then a girl, no a full grown woman, who was blocking the light and warmth from the fire. Alara, he remembered slowly, was her name. She kept speaking loudly and quickly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his slightly sore neck. Had he really slept in the chair?

"Vio! You must get up and dressed, the celebration starts soon. You have to be ready and down by the main Ballroom in only 20 minutes. I've lain out the best of all your tunics and leggings on the bed, the rest of your clothes are folded and lying in the top drawer of the dresser beside it."

After a moment of silence Vio nodded, now dry blond locks swinging, as he moved to stand. As an afterthought he held the towel around his waist and moved toward the bed.

After a moment, when she could be sure he was going to keep moving, she picked up the hair towel he had left in the damp chair and exited the room. Just before she closed the door she called back into the dark cavern.

"I'll be back in 10 minutes to make sure you're almost ready!"

With that last warning she closed the door behind her, plunging the room into a deeper darkness, which was exactly the way Vio liked it. He let the damp towel slip from his thin waist as he began to pull on the freshly washed clothes, his still foggy mind noting the cloth smelled faintly of flowers as he pulled it over his head.

True to her word, Alara was back after ten minutes. She knocked sharply on his door and after a moment Vio opened it, fully clothed. She gave him a quick glance.

"Where is your sword?" Her voice was sharp and quick. In contrast Vio's voice was slow and cold.

"I had thought this was to be a ball to celebrate the defeat of evil, not something suited for such weaponry."

Alara sighed, "Usually you would be correct, but this is also a celebration of the Heroes of the Four Sword. The sword itself is as much a symbol as you are."

At her logic Vio silently turned and retrieved his sword, belting it around his waist as he returned to the door. Finally satisfied with his appearance, Alara stepped aside to let him into the hall. Looking around he noticed both doors to his companions' rooms were open and he could hear voices from within each. Then the brunette beside him spoke and confirmed the blonde's thoughts.

"The others are not yet ready; Karane has her hands full with Blue and Red, and I think Silvia has almost finished with Green." Vio looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching as she stiffened and realized how what she'd said sounded.

"I'm sorry Vio, that didn't come out…" But her hurried apology was cut off by the blond.

"It's alright. I'm well aware of how difficult Blue can be. Just don't ever let him hear you talking like that. He would not appreciate it, and probably would act very childishly as usual." With that Vio turned and stepped lightly across the hall to Green's room, Alara in tow.

Inside the room was bright, the wall around the castle bounced light from the setting sun back into the room, despite the shadows of the castle itself growing up the wall. Vio spotted Green immediately, talking with another maid near the bed. She seemed much like Alara, except she was a bit darker skinned and had brownish-red hair. As she looked at Vio he saw she had golden eyes and he was instantly reminded of one of the ancient tribes, the Gerudo.

Green glanced over then and saw Vio.

"Hi Vi. Did you sleep well? And how was your bath? It's been a long time since we've had a good, hot bath." The last was directed at the maids, and Silvia smiled as he looked to her.

"Yes Green, I did sleep quiet well. The bath was also enjoyable, but you know there are other things we need to do this evening."

Green looked up sharply, suddenly realizing the truth of Vio's words. "Of course," he said, moving toward Vio and the door. Passing the intelligent blond with a suddenly determined expression Green turned down the hall and walked straight into Blue and Red's room.

Following quickly behind him, Vio watched the scene unfold from the door of the red room.

"Blue! Red! Are you ready to go?" Green called loudly, causing all three occupants to jump.

It was Blue who responded, "Ya ya, keep your hat on Green. We just gotta get our swords and we'll be all ready." He had a towel around his shoulders, keeping dripping hair off his clean tunic as he pulled on boots. Red also looked like he'd just come from the bath, he was furiously rubbing his own towel against his head, boots lying beside his feet. Their maid, Karane, was looking at Green with a slightly worried expression. As Green moved quickly into the room she backed around him toward the other maids and Vio in the doorway.

Vio wasn't quite sure how, but ten minutes later all four of them had nearly dry hair and swords in hand as they quickly followed the maids through the never ending maze that was Hyrule castle. Suddenly they were being herded into a good sized room with a huge pair of double doors at the other end, rows of benches against either wall.

"This is the room you will wait in until the trumpets blare and the doors open." Karane said around slightly panting breath. Now that Vio had a chance to look at her he saw she was a girl of about 20, with bright red hair, pale skin, and clear blue eyes. After a moment Alara added,

"You will all be expected to dance with the princess at least once, though who else you dance with is your choice. You don't have to be good at it, you can easily say your trip has exhausted you or something else to explain missteps; and the dance will be simple. Otherwise just be respectful."

Silvia nodded and gave them a small smile before the maids all moved quickly back the way they'd come, shutting the door behind themselves.

The boys all looked at one another a moment with slightly worried expressions. None of them knew what this would be like, but before long Red began to giggle. Blue's hair was a frightful mess; it looked more like a pile of hay on his head than hair and stuck every which way out from under his hat. Green soon joined in and even Vio couldn't keep a smile off his face. The tension drained out of the air as they all began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Blue didn't sound as angry as he usually did, just confused.

"Here," Red said as he reached up for Blue's hair. "I'll fix it; your hair's just a mess."

Green calmed himself as he watched the two boys run their fingers through the messy strands, trying to create some semblance of order. After a moment he turned to Vio.

"My hair doesn't look like that, does it?" He asked the quiet reader, and in response Vio shook his head.

"No Green, your hair looks quite normal, besides being noticeably cleaner."

Green nodded his thanks with a small smile as he glanced at Vio's own head. Apparently he found it neat enough because he turned to the others without saying a word.

Red was almost done repairing Blue's hair, and as he stepped back a pace to admire his handiwork Blue wondered, "How long is it going to be before those trumpets say we can go in?"

As if they were waiting for his question the sound of trumpets suddenly filled the small space.

Despite his strong voice a moment ago, Blue suddenly looked very nervous. His face was mirrored for a moment by all the other teens, before Green took a deep breath and straightened.

"Come on guys," their leader said, "We've gone up against horrible monsters and beasts. Surely we aren't going to let something like this make us turn tail. Everyone in there just wants to say thanks, come on!" And with those words he turned and walked toward the doors. The others fell in step behind him as he led them confidently into the unknown.

* * *

><p>Shorter than what I'd like, but there it is! Anyone have anything they'd like to see at the partyball/celebration, Comment, and I'll see what I can do! I lurv you all!


	11. Chapter 11

Nope lovely readers, I'm not dead. I just took a break from writing to discover what it's like to have a relationship with another person. But he's going into the military shortly, so I should have more time to resume my writing. Assuming school stops trying to kill me.

FLASHBACK

Despite his strong voice a moment ago, Blue suddenly looked very nervous. His face was mirrored for a moment by all the other teens, before Green took a deep breath and straightened.

"Come on guys," their leader said, "We've gone up against horrible monsters and beasts. Surely we aren't going to let something like this make us turn tail. Everyone in there just wants to say thanks, come on!" And with those words he turned and walked toward the doors. The others fell in step behind him as he led them confidently into the unknown.

CHAPTER XI

As the sound of the trumpets faded the great oak doors opened, revealing a huge ballroom. Beams of slanted light came in from a line windows at least three stories up on the western wall, sending squares of golden light onto the opposite wall and the huge tapestries of past heroes that hung from it. Lower on each wall a line of torches in their sconces burned to light the room further.

There were people in the ballroom too; hundreds of men and women in all kinds of finery filled the room, standing in groups of three or four. They all turned toward the doors, all watching to see the heroes that had saved their country. Many oval tables were scattered about on either side of the long, deep red carpet that led from the doors to the two thrones at the opposite end of the room. The people were denser at that end as well; the King and Princess were seated, also watching the heroes.

Before the doors had quite finished opening, Green stepped forward, unhurried, toward the thrones at other end of the giant room. As he did a single harp from a group of instruments began to play a soft melody, trumpets and stringed instruments soon joined what everyone recognized as the Song of the Hero(1), one of the oldest songs in the land. It had been written after the first hero completed his journey, or so the stories told.

Behind Green, Red smiled at everyone as they walked by, waving at a few familiar faces from their travels. Behind him Blue stayed rather stiffly facing forward, though his eyes darted around the room, unable to relax. From the back of their line Vio simply followed, looking around a little but mostly just calmly walking with the others up to the thrones.

As they reached the base of the three stairs that led up to the thrones Green stepped to his right and stopped. Red stepped up beside Green, Blue stepped to the left and Vio moved to the far left. The music began to fade as together the four boys moved down to their knee, one hand on their sword hilt the other across their chest in a formal bow.

The princess and the King rose from their thrones and stepped forward to the top of the stairs. In his great booming voice the King spoke, his voice easily carrying across the silent room.

**"Welcome, Heroes of the Four Sword, to Hyrule castle. Please rise and accept our thanks for all that you have achieved. For destroying the evil Wind Mage Vaati; for defeating all the evils he set loose across the land; for sealing Ganon away where he can harm no one. I thank you, the Royal family thanks you, all the people gathered here thank you, and Hyrule herself thanks you. You have all preformed a great and noble service, and your names will be remembered with the other Heroes of Hyrule."**

A cheer went up as the four teens bowed again. Glancing over at the others a thought occurred to Green and as the cheering died down he began to speak.

"We thank you, Your Majesty, for such a great honor. However it should be known that there is one other who is no longer here, but should be remembered as well. Without his help we could never have succeeded in our task and likely would not be here. He gave his life so that we might succeed and I ask that his name be remembered with ours."

**"Very well,"** the King spoke with a small smile**. "Who was this brave lad that you would have us remember?"**

"His name was Shadow, because he was our shadow, given life and a soul of his own. He was brought out of the Shadow Realm to do Vaati's bidding, but turned on his master and helped us succeed instead. It cost him his life, but he knew that Vaati was wrong and embraced the light in the end. We ask that you remember his sacrifice, despite the damage he caused in his misguided beginnings."

When Green had begun the Princess gasped, similar responses were heard throughout the hall. The King's eyes had been wide, but quickly softened as Green went on. As Green finished he even smiled and when he spoke his words were kind.

**"He was a brave boy indeed; to turn against his evil masters for the sake of goodness. Such courage should not go unremembered. His name will be written alongside yours, and will be sung with yours whenever the bards tell your tale to the children of Hyrule for generations to come."**

Then, unexpectedly, Vio stepped up and spoke. All eyes turned to him as he said, "But Shadow also committed great crimes against Hyrule and her people before he turned. Is he to be pardoned for all of those crimes?"

The King looked at the last hero a moment, before deciding it couldn't do any harm to pardon a dead person, and nodding he spoke. **"Yes, I, King of Hyrule hereby grant full pardon to Shadow, for righting his wrongs by turning against his master and helping save that which he once tried to destroy."**

Vio bowed low in thanks as the King turned to the two boys in the center of the line. **"Do either of you have any requests of me?"**

Red and Blue both quickly shook their heads and the King smiled broadly. Raising his head he looked out across the assembled guests and said, **"Then let the ball, to celebrate the success of the Heroes of the Four Sword, begin!" **Another cheer went up through the crowd and they began to mingle and speak in their small groups again.

The boys moved away from the thrones a little before Green turned to Vio.

"What was that about?" the leader asked quietly, more curious than angry. Vio shrugged.

"I thought it was a good time, public, embarrassing for the King if he refused. It would be horrible for Shadow to have to go on trial for his actions right after we finally brought him back. This way he's already been pardoned."

"But you took advantage of the fact the King thinks he's dead." Green sounded a little angry at that.

"You really shouldn't speak that way Green," Vio warned softly with a glance around. "We are at a ball full of people and employees who work for, or are very close to, the King. It would be horrible if any of them even _thought_ one of Hyrule's newest heroes thought ill of her King. Or worse, would take advantage of him." And with that Vio turned to walk back toward the thrones. The other three watched in a mix of astonishment and resignation as he invited the Princess to the first dance of the evening.

Green sighed after him as Red went off to go find cake, Blue on his heels. Green thought to himself **/Sometimes I think Vi took more than a page out of Shadow's book/**. At that moment though, he was approached by a tall brunette girl who wanted to dance. For quite a while after that he had little time to think of Vio or Shadow.

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

Vio knew he had to get away from Green before their leader could get really angry about what he had done, and he had to dance with Zelda at least once. He'd always liked taking out two birds with one arrow. Luckily for him the first song the band played was a stately, almost melancholy waltz, the princess only needed to show him the simple steps twice before they were spinning easily across the floor with the other dancers.

Once Zelda saw he'd learnt the steps, and had begun leading her, she tried for some conversation. She still needed to learn if she could trust these four boys as well as she'd once trusted Link, and Vio was definitely the hardest to read.

"I never knew Shadow had done anything to help you," she began to get his attention. It worked, his head fairly whipped around to look her in the eye. His look was piercingly intent and took the young Princess off guard for a moment. After only a moment though the fire retreated, his face resumed its usual polite mask.

"You never did ask either," he said softly as they spun across the floor. "I'm sure as soon as we have a chance Green and the others will tell you about everything they've done, and how Shadow helped them."

She frowned, "You make it sound like theirs was a completely different quest from yours."

Vio looked away again, "In some ways it was," he said so quietly she almost didn't catch it. After a moment he continued, "For a time I pretended to switch sides and join Shadow to learn the source of the evil power and perhaps destroy it. In that time I found Shadow wasn't a mindless servant, he was just lonely. When I stopped pretending to be evil, he thought I had pretended to be his friend as well and was enraged. He fought us and we sent him back to the Shadow Realm.

"Ganon or Vaati brought him back though, likely using the Dark Mirror. Then something happened; maybe he had time to think, or someone said something to him that reminded him he wasn't all bad… something made him change sides and help us instead of Ganon."

The princess suddenly remembered being trapped on the Tower of Winds, where Shadow had come out of the dark mirror shivering and looking exhausted. She remembered telling him he was a hero too, because he was a part of Link just as the four heroes were. She hadn't been sure of it then, but it had seemed like the right thing to say. Then the Dark Cloud had taken her and the next thing she knew she was falling toward a battle between the four and Ganon…

Both teens were deep in thought for nearly the rest of the dance. As the ending notes rang in her long ears the Princess felt she needed to say something else to this strange, quiet hero.

"Perhaps I had misjudged him after all. My father was right to pardon him if all you and Green have said is true. I look forward to hearing the full story from Green soon; it seems there is much to know."

Vio smiled at her as the song came to an end. "There is always much to know Princess." With that he stopped. As the other dancers bowed to their partners he took the princesses hand and bent to touch his lips to the back of it. He straightened with a small smile.

"Thank you for the dance, Princess Zelda." And then he was gone, walking off across the room toward the large doors they had come in earlier. Before she could take more than a step after him another young man, a nearby town's young Mayor, asked her to dance. When she looked back the way Vio had gone he was nowhere in sight, so she accepted the dance and was lead across the floor again.

Vio hadn't actually gone far, as a large group of dancers left the floor between him and the princess he turned and blended in with their group. A moment later he was at one of the snack tables, getting a glass of juice and a small cake for something to eat. Sure there were healthier snacks, but Vio's sweet tooth was almost as bad as Red's, he just had a little more control most of the time.

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

Red and Blue had gone off to the largest table of sweets they could find and plundered it. Each with two little plates piled high with food, they had gone to one of the round tables to sit and enjoy their horde. Very shortly a small crowd had gathered and Red easily chatted with at least four people at once while still finding time to eat. Blue watched him, amazed, eating his own food. Every so often someone would ask Blue to tell his tale, or to dance, but Blue always answered, "After I'm done eating." And he didn't plan to ever stop eating till he decided to go up to bed.

That was, until Red had turned to him and said, "Well, would you?"

Blue jumped slightly, realizing he'd missed something. Around a mouthful of food he murmured, "Umm, what was the question again?"

Red smiled, "Would you like to dance? Everyone out there looks like they're having so much fun, and I think I'm getting full on cake." He giggled a little at that.

Blue looked at him a moment, swallowing the food, then shook his head. "Naaa, I don't think so." he said after a moment. "I'm sure someone else can dance with you, if ya want."

"But I want you to dance with me. I don't wanna dance with anyone else." The boy pouted with those huge round eyes of his and suddenly Blue changed his mind, no one could deny anything to that face.

"Well, if you really want me to, I guess I could." Blue mumbled quietly. But somehow Red still heard it over the music and chatter around them. The small boy immediately leapt up and nearly tugged Blue from his chair.  
>"Thank you so much, Blue! You're the best. Let's get out there quick, this song's nearly over and we want to be ready for the next one!"<br>Blue let a quiet groan escape him as Red created a path in their fans, toward the dance floor. He had to fight to keep a grin off his face, why did Red have to be so adorable all the time?

.o0O**O**O0o. .o0O**O**O0o.

Green caught sight of Blue and Red as they entered the dance floor their leader was trying to escape. Green had been dancing nonstop with girls since the celebration began, and he felt he was due for a rest. Nearly to the edge of the dance floor a short girl with cute pigtails stepped into his escape route.  
>"Knight Green! I had hoped to see you… and perhaps, dance with you?" she asked in a high, sweet voice.<br>Green barely bit back a moan. Allowing only a slight sigh at his fate, the hero straightened himself and put on a smile. He was about to accept the girl's request when another feminine voice with much more authority spoke over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but Green has already reserved this dance for me."

Green looked over his shoulder to see the Princess, dressed in a long, puffy, elegant pink dress that nearly brushed the floor. He hadn't had much time to see her clothing earlier. White lace circled her neck and arms, and layered the lower half of the poufy skirt. The only jewelry she wore was her small tiara and a gold necklace with a Triforce charm. Green had no doubt those were real gemstones set into its shining surface.

The girl gave a quick curtsy and scurried off as Green sighed in relief. Amazing, a Princess coming to His rescue, but this was her home. She had the definite advantage.

A slower song began and much of the floor cleared, it was a song for resting and the dancers wanted a chance at the food. But the Princess didn't seem to mind, she outright giggled at Green's grateful look. As they moved back into the floor she led him in a slow waltz.

"Do not worry, Hero, Green. I can see you are in need of rest. The girls tonight have more than taken advantage of your hospitality and willingness to please. After our dance I'll see to it you are given the chance to rest that you deserve."

"Thank you, Zelda." Green replied with another quiet sigh as they walked slowly across the floor. "It's not that I dislike dancing with them… It's just that, they are all so energetic. It gets hard to keep up after a while."

He spun her around and they resumed their slow waltz. "It took me many years to build up the stamina I have for such things. You have not had to dance much on your travels; you're simply not used to it. The others have been avoiding the floor as well you know. Blue and Red have just entered their first dances of the night, and Vio left moments after leaving my side."

"Blue and Red? Where are…" At that moment a laugh was heard beside them, and Green looked up to see Red fly by, nearly tugging Blue at a pace that would fit a song twice as fast as the one playing. Red was laughing like mad, and even Blue was smiling as they half danced, half skipped across the floor. Weaving in and out of the slower dancers Green was suddenly reminded of fairies dancing around falling leaves.

"**Forget I asked."** Green finally finished his sentence with a small laugh.

1) It's a real song called Ancient Hero on Youtube, for those who want to hear it. And a link for the lazy… watch?v=ldthDW1xszA

Yup, here is is. Next chapter. I'm trying to get back into writing, but wow has it been a while. I promise the next chapter will have vital information in it.  
>Thank you all for the lovely Heart Pieces though. 3 3 3<p> 


End file.
